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NCT02504372CompletedPhase 3

Study of Pembrolizumab (MK-3475) vs Placebo for Participants With Non-small Cell Lung Cancer After Resection With or Without Standard Adjuvant Therapy (MK-3475-091/KEYNOTE-091)

A Randomized, Phase 3 Trial With Anti-PD-1 Monoclonal Antibody Pembrolizumab (MK-3475) Versus Placebo for Patients With Early Stage NSCLC After Resection and Completion of Standard Adjuvant Therapy (PEARLS)

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 17 Mar 2026

Brief summary (registry, in English)

In this study, participants with Stage IB/II-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have undergone surgical resection (lobectomy or pneumonectomy) with or without adjuvant chemotherapy will be treated with pembrolizumab or placebo. The primary study hypothesis is that pembrolizumab will provide improved disease-free survival (DFS) versus placebo.

Status (registry)
Completed
Phase (registry)
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
1177 (actual)
First submitted
20 Jul 2015
Start date
6 Nov 2015
Primary completion date
24 Jan 2023
Lead sponsor
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
Diseases
Lung cancer
NCT number
NCT02504372
EU CT number
2023-509137-39-00
EudraCT number
2015-000575-27

What you commit to

  • Study type: Interventional · Phase 3
  • Participants enrolled: 1177
  • From 6 Nov 2015 to the primary completion date, 24 Jan 2023
  • 97 sites in 17 countries
  • Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.

Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Prior treatment

  • More than 4 cycles of adjuvant therapy
  • Live vaccine within 30 days prior to the first infusion of study treatment
  • Current participation or treatment with an investigational agent or use of an investigational device within 4 weeks of the first infusion of study treatment
  • Chronic use of immunosuppressive agents and/or systemic corticosteroids or any use in the last 3 days prior to the first infusion of study treatment
  • Previous allogeneic tissue/solid organ transplant
  • Surgery- or chemotherapy-related toxicity (non-hematological) not resolved to Grade 1 with the exception of alopecia, fatigue, neuropathy and lack of appetite /nausea

Other illness

  • Evidence of disease at clinical examination and/or baseline radiological assessment as documented by contrast enhanced chest/upper abdomen CT scan, brain CT/MRI and clinical examination
  • History of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (known HIV 1/2 antibodies positive). No known active Hepatitis B or C
  • History of interstitial lung disease or (non-infectious) pneumonitis that required oral or IV steroids (other than COPD exacerbation) or current pneumonitis
  • Active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in past 2 years
  • History of a hematologic or primary solid tumor malignancy, unless in remission for at least 5 years with the exception of pT1-2 prostatic cancer Gleason score \< 6, superficial bladder cancer, non melanomatous skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
  • Active infection requiring therapy

Lab values

  • Prior treatment with anti-programmed cell death (anti-PD)-1, anti-PD ligand-1/2, anti-CD137, or cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) modulators or any other immune-modulating agents

Other

  • Pregnant or breastfeeding, or expecting to conceive or father children within the projected duration of the trial, starting with the screening visit through 120 days after the last infusion of study treatment
  • Participant will not be eligible if the participant is or has an immediate family member (e.g., spouse, parent/legal guardian, sibling or child) who is investigational site or Sponsor staff directly involved with this trial, unless prospective site Review Board approval is given allowing exception to this criterion for a specific participant

Who the study is looking for

  • Pathological diagnosis of NSCLC confirmed at surgery, any histology. Participants with two synchronous primary non-small cell lung cancers are excluded from the study
  • Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) v7 Stage IB with T ≥ 4 cm, II-IIIA NSCLC after complete surgical resection with resection margins proved microscopically free of disease (R0). Carcinoma in situ can be present at the bronchial margin
  • Available tumor sample obtained at surgical resection for programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) Immunohistochemistry (IHC) expression assessment
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status 0-1
  • Adequate organ function performed within 10 days of treatment initiation
  • Female participants of childbearing potential must have a negative urine or serum pregnancy test at screening (within 72 hours of first infusion of study medication). If the urine test cannot be confirmed as negative, a serum pregnancy test will be required. The serum pregnancy test must be negative for the participant to be eligible
  • Female participants of childbearing potential must be willing to use 2 methods of birth control or be surgically sterile, or abstain from heterosexual activity starting with the first infusion of study treatment through 120 days after the last infusion of study treatment
  • Female participants who are breast feeding must discontinue nursing prior to the first infusion of study medication and until 120 days after the last infusion study treatment
  • Male participants must agree to use an adequate method of contraception starting with the first infusion of study treatment through 120 days after the last infusion of study treatment
  • Absence of severe comorbidities that in the opinion of the Investigator might hamper the participation to the study and/or the treatment administration
  • No prior or planned neo-adjuvant or adjuvant radiotherapy and/or neo-adjuvant chemotherapy for the current malignancy is allowed

Age in the registry: 18 years to - · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (97)

Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.

SiteCityCountrySite status
Medizinische Universitaet Innsbruck
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InnsbruckAustriaCompleted
Landeskrankenhaus Rankweil
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RankweilAustriaCompleted
Gemeinnuetzige Salzburger Landeskliniken Betriebsgesellschaft mbH
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SalzburgAustriaCompleted
Institut Jules Bordet
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AnderlechtBelgiumCompleted
Grand Hopital de Charleroi
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CharleroiBelgiumCompleted
Antwerp University Hospital
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EdegemBelgiumCompleted
UZ Leuven
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LeuvenBelgiumCompleted
Algemeen Ziekenhuis Delta
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RoeselareBelgiumCompleted
Cabinet Medical Van Houte Cornejo Montero
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YvoirBelgiumCompleted
University Hospital Olomouc
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OlomoucCzechiaCompleted
Nemocnice AGEL Ostrava - Vitkovice a.s.
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OstravaCzechiaCompleted
Fakultni Nemocnice Plzen
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Plzen 3CzechiaCompleted
Fakultni nemocnice v Motole
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PragueCzechiaCompleted
Fakultni nemocnice Bulovka
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PragueCzechiaCompleted
Fakultni Thomayerova nemocnice
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Prague 4CzechiaCompleted
Evangelische Lungenklinik Berlin Krankenhausbetriebs gGmbH
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BerlinGermanyCompleted
Charite Universitaetsmedizin Berlin KöR
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BerlinGermanyCompleted
Vivantes Netzwerk fuer Gesundheit GmbH
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BerlinGermanyCompleted
Kaiserswerther Diakonie
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DuesseldorfGermanyCompleted
Klinikum Esslingen GmbH
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Esslingen am NeckarGermanyCompleted
Goethe University Frankfurt
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Frankfurt Am MainGermanyCompleted
Asklepios Klinik Gauting GmbH
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GautingGermanyCompleted
Universitaetsmedizin Goettingen
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GoettingenGermanyCompleted
Hämato-Onkologie Hamburg, Prof. Laack und Partner
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HamburgGermanyCompleted
Universitaetsklinikum des Saarlandes AöR
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HomburgGermanyCompleted
Universitaetsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein AöR
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LuebeckGermanyCompleted
Robert Bosch Krankenhaus GmbH
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StuttgartGermanyCompleted
Region Hovedstaden
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HerlevDenmarkCompleted
Næstved Hospital
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NæstvedDenmarkCompleted
Odense University Hospital
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Odense CDenmarkCompleted
North Estonia Medical Centre Foundation
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TallinnEstoniaCompleted
Tartu University Hospital
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Tartu LinnEstoniaCompleted
Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron
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BarcelonaSpainCompleted
Hospital Clinic de Barcelona
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BarcelonaSpainCompleted
Hospital Universitario Reina Sofia
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CórdobaSpainCompleted
Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal
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MadridSpainCompleted
Hospital Universitario HM Sanchinarro
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MadridSpainCompleted
Hospital Universitario La Paz
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MadridSpainCompleted
Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre
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MadridSpainCompleted
Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro de Majadahonda
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MajadahondaSpainCompleted
Hospital Universitario Virgen de la Victoria
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MálagaSpainCompleted
Hospital Universitario Central De Asturias
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OviedoSpainCompleted
University Hospital Virgen Del Rocio S.L.
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SevillaSpainCompleted
Hospital Universitario Virgen De La Macarena
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SevillaSpainCompleted
Hospital Universitario Virgen De Valme
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SevillaSpainCompleted
Hospital Universitario Y Politecnico La Fe
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ValenciaSpainCompleted
Hospital Unviersitario Miguel Servet
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ZaragozaSpainCompleted
Hospital Clinico Universitario Lozano Blesa
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ZaragozaSpainCompleted
Centre d’oncologie et de radiothérapie du Pays basque
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BayonneFranceCompleted
Centre Hospitalier Régional et Universitaire de Brest
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BrestFranceCompleted
Hospices Civils de Lyon
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BronFranceCompleted
Centre Francois Baclesse
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Caen Cedex 5FranceCompleted
Chu Gabriel Montpied
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Clermont-FerrandFranceCompleted
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes
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RennesFranceCompleted
Institut Gustave Roussy
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VillejuifFranceCompleted
Thoracic General Hospital of Athens "I Sotiria"
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AthensGreeceCompleted
University General Hospital of Heraklion
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HeraklionGreeceCompleted
General University Hospital Of Patras
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PatrasGreeceCompleted
Geniko Nosokomeio Thessalonikis George Papanikolaou
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ThessalonikiGreeceCompleted
Orszagos Koranyi Pulmonologiai Intezet
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Budapest XIIHungaryCompleted
Orszagos Onkologiai Intezet
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Budapest XIIHungaryCompleted
University of Debrecen
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DebrecenHungaryCompleted
Farkasgyepui Tudogyogyintezet
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FarkasgyepűHungaryCompleted
Komarom-Esztergom Varmegyei Szent Borbala Korhaz
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TatabányaHungaryCompleted
Cork University Hospital
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CorkIrelandCompleted
Mater Misericordiae University Hospital
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Dublin 7IrelandCompleted
St James's Hospital
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Dublin 8IrelandCompleted
University Hospital Limerick
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LimerickIrelandCompleted
University Hospital Waterford
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WaterfordIrelandCompleted
Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Di Bologna IRCCS Istituto Di Ricerca E Di Cura A Carattere Scientifico
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BolognaItalyCompleted
Azienda Ospedaliera Santa Croce E Carle
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CuneoItalyCompleted
Careggi University Hospital
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FlorenceItalyCompleted
IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino
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GenoaItalyCompleted
Fondazione IRCCS - Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori
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MilanItalyCompleted
Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori
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MonzaItalyCompleted
Istituto Oncologico Veneto
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PadovaItalyCompleted
Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Parma
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ParmaItalyCompleted
Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale della Romagna
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RavennaItalyCompleted
Azienda Unita Sanitaria Locale Della Romagna
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RiminiItalyCompleted
Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale
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UdineItalyCompleted
Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital
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RigaLatviaCompleted
Rigas Austrumu kliniska universitates slimnica SIA
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RigaLatviaCompleted
Rijnstate Ziekenhuis Stichting
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ArnhemNetherlandsCompleted
Ziekenhuis St Jansdal
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HarderwijkNetherlandsCompleted
Zuyderland Medisch Centrum Stichting
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HeerlenNetherlandsCompleted
Stichting Elisabeth-TweeSteden Ziekenhuis
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TilburgNetherlandsCompleted
Mazowieckie Centrum Leczenia Chorob Pluc i Gruzlicy
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OtwockPolandCompleted
Wielkopolskie Centrum Pulmonologii i Torakochirurgii im. Eugenii i Janusza Zeylandow
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PoznanPolandCompleted
Narodowy Instytut Onkologii im Marii Sklodowskiej Curie Panstwowy Instytut Badawczy
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WarsawPolandCompleted
Unidade Local de Saúde de Coimbra, E.P.E.
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CoimbraPortugalCompleted
Instituto Portugues de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil, E.P.E.
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LisbonPortugalCompleted
Unidade Local De Saude De Santa Maria E.P.E.
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LisbonPortugalCompleted
Instituto Portugues de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, E.P.E.
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PortoPortugalCompleted
Unidade Local De Saude De Santo Antonio E.P.E.
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PortoPortugalCompleted
Unidade Local de Saúde de Gaia/Espinho, E. P. E
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Vila Nova de GaiaPortugalCompleted
University Clinic Golnik
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GolnikSloveniaCompleted
Institute of Oncology Ljubljana
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LjubljanaSloveniaCompleted

This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.