Does immunotherapy treat bowel cancer?

Immunotherapy helps the immune system recognise and attack cancer cells. In bowel cancer, the oncology team may review the tumour's molecular features before recommending it. These results can show whether the cancer is more likely to respond to an immune checkpoint medicine. The location of the tumour, whether it has spread, your general health and any earlier treatment also shape the decision.

It may be given on its own or alongside another systemic treatment. The aim may be to control cancer that cannot be removed with surgery, shrink disease before another treatment, or maintain control after an earlier response. A response is not guaranteed, and some tumours do not respond.

Ask whether tumour testing has been completed and what the result means for treatment choices. Take a current list of medicines and supplements to your oncology appointment, including medicines that affect the immune system. Discuss the intended goal, how treatment will be given, and how scans or symptoms will be used to assess it. Read more about [Bowel Cancer](/conditions/colorectal-cancer/) and [Immunotherapy](/treatments/systemic-therapy/immunotherapy/).

Contact your cancer team promptly about new or worsening diarrhoea, severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, unusual bleeding, fever, breathlessness, a widespread rash or marked weakness. Immune treatments can cause inflammation in organs, sometimes after several doses or even after treatment has paused. Urgent assessment is needed for severe breathing difficulty, confusion, fainting or rapidly worsening symptoms.

Which tumour features were tested, and do they affect immunotherapy eligibility? What is the goal of this treatment for my bowel cancer? Would immunotherapy be combined with another treatment? Which symptoms should I report the same day, and who should I contact outside clinic hours?