Advanced cervical cancer
RESULTS FOR KEYTRUDA + combination therapy
For certain types of advanced cervical cancer

Is KEYTRUDA right for you?
KEYTRUDA may be used with chemotherapy medicines, with or without the medicine bevacizumabThis medicine is thought to work by preventing the growth of new blood vessels, which may then prevent tumor growth., when:
- your cervical cancer does not go away (persistent), has returned, or has spread (advanced cervical cancer), and
- your tumor tests positive for “PD-L1.”
PD‑L1 = programmed death ligand 1.
KEYTRUDA may be part of your treatment plan
No one is prepared to hear the word cancer. Learning more about your diagnosis and treatment can make a difference. The information below can help you understand how your treatment works. Remember, you have a voice in your care.
KEYTRUDA alone or in combination

KEYTRUDA is a type of therapy called immunotherapy. Immunotherapy is different from chemotherapy. Instead of attacking cancer cells directly, immunotherapy helps your immune system do what it is designed to do: find and fight cancer cells. KEYTRUDA can cause your immune system to attack normal organs and tissues in any area of your body and can affect the way they work. These problems can sometimes become severe or life-threatening and can lead to death. You can have more than one of these problems at the same time. These problems may happen anytime during treatment or even after your treatment has ended.
Chemotherapy uses a drug to attack and kill quickly-growing cells directly. Chemotherapy can be used in combination with other drugs, such as immunotherapy, to treat advanced cancer. Chemotherapy may also damage normal quickly-growing cells, such as hair and blood cells.
Bevacizumab works differently than chemotherapy. This medicine is thought to work by preventing the growth of new blood vessels, which may then block tumor growth and development. You may receive treatment with or without bevacizumab based on your doctor’s assessment. You and your doctor will decide if bevacizumab is a part of your treatment.
Understanding the need for biomarker testing
Biomarker testing for PD-L1 may help determine your treatment options
Discover what PD-L1 is and how testing for this biomarker could help determine if KEYTRUDA may fit into your advanced cervical cancer treatment plan.
PD-L1 = programmed death ligand 1.
Clinical Trial Results
KEYTRUDA + combination therapy for advanced cervical cancer was shown to help people live longer compared to combination therapy alone
Combination therapy = chemotherapy with or without the medicine bevacizumabThis medicine is thought to work by preventing the growth of new blood vessels, which may then prevent tumor growth..
With KEYTRUDA + combination therapy, certain people may have another option to fight advanced cervical cancer, which is when your cancer does not go away, has returned, or has spread (advanced cervical cancer).
- Among 617 people in a clinical trial, 548 had tumors test positive for the biomarker PD-L1 with a combined positive score (CPS) greater than or equal to 1.
- Among those 548 people, 273 people received KEYTRUDA 200 mg every 3 weeks with combination therapy, and 275 people received combination therapy alone.
- Chemotherapy medicines used in this trial were paclitaxel and cisplatin or paclitaxel and carboplatin.
PD-L1= programmed death ligand 1.
Results in the 548 people studied whose tumors tested positive for PD-L1 with a CPS ≥1
More people lived longer
*Paclitaxel and cisplatin or paclitaxel and carboplatin, with or without bevacizumab.
Additional follow-up showed 44% (120 of 273) of people taking KEYTRUDA + combination therapy were alive compared to about 27% (74 of 275) of people taking combination therapy alone.
KEYTRUDA + combination therapy reduced the risk of cancer spreading, growing, or getting worse by 38% compared to combination therapy alone.
Half of the people receiving KEYTRUDA with combination therapy were alive without their cancer spreading, growing, or getting worse at 10.4 months, compared to 8.2 months for half of the people on combination therapy alone. Cancer did not progress in 42.5% (116 of 273) of people receiving KEYTRUDA with combination therapy compared to 28% (77 of 275) of people receiving combination therapy alone.
People who had their tumors shrink
*Paclitaxel and cisplatin or paclitaxel and carboplatin, with or without bevacizumab.
Duration of response
The median duration of response was 18.0 months for people taking KEYTRUDA with combination therapy compared to 10.4 months for people taking combination therapy alone.
The length of time people responded ranged from 1.3+ to 24.2+ months for people taking KEYTRUDA with combination therapy compared to 1.5+ to 22.0+ months for people taking combination therapy alone.
+ indicates an ongoing response.
Understanding different types of results
There’s a lot to take in when learning about your diagnosis. And several terms your doctor may use to talk about your treatment goals are important to understand.
Living longer
One way your doctor may determine which medicine to choose is overall survival (OS). This is a measurement of time from the start of treatment and measures the length of time a person is alive.
Time without the cancer spreading, growing, or getting worse
Your doctor may measure the amount of time the cancer is not getting worse or spreading. This is called progression-free survival (PFS).
Getting tumors to shrink
One goal is to have your tumors shrink (get smaller) or disappear. Your doctor may refer to this as objective response rate, or ORR. When a tumor becomes smaller, it is called a partial response. When it disappears, this is called a complete response.
Time responding to treatment
Your doctor may also measure the duration of response (DOR), which is how long you respond to treatment until the time that you are no longer responding.