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News|Videos|November 4, 2026
Keytruda After Kidney Cancer Surgery Lowers Risk of Death by 30%
Author(s)Dr. Toni K. Choueiri
Fact checked by: Spencer Feldman
Final KEYNOTE-564 data show Keytruda after kidney cancer surgery lowered the risk of death by 30%. Dr. Toni Choueiri explains what it means for patients.
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Receiving Keytruda (pembrolizumab) after surgery for kidney cancer continued to help patients live longer and lowered the chance of their cancer coming back, according to the final analysis of the phase 3 KEYNOTE-564 trial presented at the 2026 ESMO Congress.
The trial included 994 patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma at increased risk of recurrence after surgery to remove the kidney. After a median follow-up of about seven years, patients who received Keytruda had a 30% lower risk of death than those who received placebo. At seven years, 82.3% of patients who received Keytruda were alive, compared with 76.6% of those who received placebo. Keytruda also lowered the risk of the cancer coming back or death by 32%.
Keytruda, an immunotherapy that helps the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2021 for this use. Treatment is given as an infusion every three weeks for up to about one year. No new safety concerns were identified with longer follow-up.
In an interview with CURE, Dr. Toni K. Choueiri, [title — verify], Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, explained what these findings mean for patients.
What do the final KEYNOTE-564 results mean for patients?
Choueiri: In an unselected population, because we do not have a biomarker yet despite our 20 years of shots on goal, [there are] patients who have a chance that the cancer comes back after [removing] the kidney because of micrometastatic disease that we cannot detect. Pembrolizumab will allow [these] patients to live longer by 30% and reduce the chance of the cancer coming back.
It’s not for everyone. We don’t know who it’s for, because surgery sometimes can cure patients alone. But with pembrolizumab, the chances of that cure are higher.
Transcript edited for clarity and conciseness.
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