Immunotherapy for nasal cavity and paranasal sinus cancer
Immunotherapy helps to strengthen or restore the immune system's ability to fight cancer. This works to kill cancer cells and stop cancer cells from growing and spreading.
Some people with nasal cavity and paranasal sinus cancer have immunotherapy. If you have immunotherapy, your healthcare team will use what they know about the cancer and about your health to plan the drugs, doses and schedules.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors
The immune system normally stops itself from attacking normal cells in the body
by using specific proteins called checkpoints. Checkpoints slow down or stop an
immune system response. Some cancer cells sometimes use these checkpoints to
hide and avoid being attacked by the immune system. Immune checkpoint inhibitors
work by blocking the checkpoint proteins so immune system cells (called
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is an immune checkpoint inhibitor that targets the PD-1 checkpoint protein. It may be used to treat squamous cell carcinoma of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinus.
Side effects of immunotherapy
Side effects of immunotherapy will depend mainly on the type of drug or drug combination, the dose, how it's given and your overall health. Tell your healthcare team if you have side effects that you think might be from immunotherapy. The sooner you tell them of any problems, the sooner they can suggest ways to help you deal with them.
Pembrolizumab may cause these side effects:
- fatigue
- diarrhea
- skin changes including rash
- nausea and vomiting
- muscle and joint pain
- low blood cell counts
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