What should you know about effects of immunotherapy?

Unlike chemotherapy, many immunotherapies work by helping immune cells recognise or attack cancer. The same immune activity can sometimes affect healthy tissue. Effects may involve the skin, bowel, lungs, liver, hormone-producing glands, kidneys or nervous system. They can begin during treatment or after an infusion, and may be mild at first while still needing assessment.

Symptoms do not prove that treatment is working or failing. They may also have another cause, so the clinical team may use examination, blood tests or scans to investigate. Treatment can sometimes continue with monitoring, while suspected inflammation may require a pause or medicines that calm the immune response.

Keep every monitoring appointment and tell the team about new symptoms, even if they seem unrelated. Track bowel movements, rashes, cough, breathlessness, headaches, thirst, urine changes and fatigue. Use only recommended creams or medicines, and check before taking steroids or supplements. Carry your treatment details when attending another clinic or emergency department.

Contact the oncology team promptly for frequent loose stools, persistent abdominal pain, a spreading rash, yellowing of the skin, dark urine, severe headache, unusual thirst, marked weakness, or a new cough. Seek emergency care for severe breathlessness, chest pain, confusion, fainting, seizures or sudden weakness. Early review helps distinguish immune-related inflammation from infection or another problem.

Which organs can this medicine affect? What symptoms should I record? Who should I call overnight? Could another medicine be causing similar symptoms?