[Role of pembrolizumab in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)].

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death, not only in our country but also worldwide. It is particularly the incidence and mortality regarding females that have increased significantly in recent years. For many years chemotherapeutic treatments of lung cancer were the only way forward in the treatment of patients. In 2015 immunotherapy proved to be a great breakthrough in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), resulting from a new treatment strategy, described as immune checkpoint inhibition. Recent studies have shown the best efficacy of immunotherapy, especially in squamous cell lung cancer and the smoking-related non-squamous cell lung cancer which is explained by research regarding the high occurrence of increased mutation rate caused by smoking. The introduction of immunotherapy carries a great challenge for clinicians regarding the best therapeutic efficacy, longer survival, better quality of life as well as the management of the different profile of side effects. Pembrolizumab was the first PD-1 inhibitor, which was registered for first-line, second-line or greater treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.