From the Guidelines
Immunotherapy is indicated for various cancers, including melanoma, lung cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, lymphoma, and certain head and neck cancers, particularly when tumors express specific biomarkers like PD-L1 or demonstrate microsatellite instability, as well as for autoimmune disorders and allergic conditions, with the goal of enhancing the body's immune response against disease or suppressing overactive immune responses 1.
Indications for Immunotherapy
- Cancer treatment: melanoma, lung cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, lymphoma, and certain head and neck cancers
- Autoimmune disorders: rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease
- Allergic conditions: allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma, and insect venom allergies
Common Cancer Immunotherapies
- Pembrolizumab (Keytruda)
- Nivolumab (Opdivo)
- Ipilimumab (Yervoy)
Administration and Monitoring
- Typically administered intravenously every 2-6 weeks depending on the specific agent
- Patients should undergo appropriate testing including biomarker analysis for cancer patients or allergy testing for those with allergic conditions
- Regular monitoring for immune-related adverse events which can affect multiple organ systems is crucial, as the incidence and onset of these events vary based on the specific therapy and patient population 1
Mechanism of Action
- Enhancing the body's immune response against disease (as in cancer)
- Suppressing overactive immune responses (as in autoimmune conditions)
Important Considerations
- Immune-related adverse events can be severe and life-threatening, and may mimic other better-known conditions, highlighting the need for education and vigilance in recognizing and treating these conditions 1
From the FDA Drug Label
14.1 Unresectable or Metastatic Melanoma Previously Treated Metastatic Melanoma CHECKMATE-037 (NCT01721746) was a multicenter, open-label trial that randomized (2:1) patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma to receive OPDIVO 3 mg/kg intravenously every 2 weeks or investigator’s choice of chemotherapy, either single-agent dacarbazine 1000 mg/m2 every 3 weeks or the combination of carboplatin AUC 6 intravenously every 3 weeks and paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 intravenously every 3 weeks.
14 CLINICAL STUDIES 14. 1 Unresectable or Metastatic Melanoma CHECKMATE-067
The indications of immunotherapy with nivolumab are:
- Unresectable or metastatic melanoma
- Metastatic NSCLC
- Advanced RCC
- cHL
- Recurrent or metastatic SCCHN
- UC
- HCC
- Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma 2 2
From the Research
Indications of Immunotherapy
The indications of immunotherapy are varied and include:
- Treatment of cancer, including hematological cancers and solid tumors [ 3 ]
- Treatment of autoimmune diseases and immunodeficiencies [ 3 ]
- Treatment of advanced melanoma [ 4,5 ]
- Treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [ 6 ]
Types of Immunotherapy
The types of immunotherapy include:
- Adoptive cell therapy, including the use of T-lymphocytes expressing chimeric antigen receptors [ 3 ]
- Blockade of immune checkpoints, including the use of monoclonal antibodies against CTLA-4 and PD-1 [ 3,4,5 ]
- Tumor vaccines and tumor-specific monoclonal antibodies [ 3 ]
- Oncolytic viral therapies and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies [ 7 ]
Specific Immunotherapies
Specific immunotherapies include: