Be Familiar With Meds for Treating Toxicity From Cancer Immunotherapy

You'll see more orders for meds to treat toxicity from cancer immunotherapy (ipilimumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, etc).

Cancer immunotherapy works by teaching the immune system to find and kill cancer cells. This is different than chemotherapy, which kills all dividing cells...cancerous OR healthy.

The problem is that cancer immunotherapy puts the immune system into overdrive...and causes side effects similar to autoimmune conditions. They can be mild or serious...range from a rash to colitis or hepatitis...and possibly occur even a year after stopping treatment.