Rishabh Jain, Medical Oncologist at AIIMS, shared a post on X:
“Not just coffee – even pembrolizumab works better before 11 AM
Eur J Cancer 2025 | 9-center retrospective, n=450
1L Pembrolizumab monotherapy in advanced NSCLC
Timing groups:
Early ≤11:00 AM Late >11:00 AM
Results (PSM, n=206 | median f/u 62.5 mo):
- OS: 43.7 vs 32.4 mo ➝ HR 0.67 (95% CI 0.46–0.97, p=0.03)
- PFS: 13.8 vs 11.6 mo ➝ NS (HR 0.80)
- irAEs ≥G3: 26.2% vs 13.6% (p=0.04)
Take-home:
First-dose timing may prime immune activation. Morning infusion → better OS, but higher severe irAEs.
A simple, low-cost tweak worth prospective testing.”
Title: Timing of First Pembrolizumab Infusion and Long-Term Outcomes in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Retrospective Multicenter Study
Journal: EJC
Authors: Akihiro Tsukaguchi, Kinnosuke Matsumoto, Akihiro Tamiya, Motohiro Tamiya, Masahide Mori, Hidekazu Suzuki, Takayuki Shiroyama, Akito Miyazaki, Kiyohide Komuta, Yasuhiro Mihashi, Keijiro Yamauchi, Kensuke Kanaoka, Tomoki Kuge, Yuhei Kinehara, Koji Azuma, Toshie Niki, Koki Moritomo, Yoshito Takeda, Atsushi Kumanogoh
Learn more about Pembrolizumab on OncoDaily.