What to expect from immunotherapy for squamous cell skin cancer

Immunotherapy helps immune cells recognise and attack cancer. For advanced or difficult-to-treat squamous cell skin cancer, your specialist may consider it after reviewing the tumour’s location, spread, previous procedures, other treatments, and your general health. The medicine is commonly given through a vein during an outpatient visit.

Your team will examine the treated area and ask about changes elsewhere in your body. Possible effects include tiredness, itching, rash, diarrhoea, joint discomfort, cough, or changes in appetite. Because immune activity can affect healthy tissue, symptoms away from the skin matter too. A new rash may be treatment-related, infection-related, or linked to the cancer, so describe its appearance and timing rather than treating it yourself.

Keep the skin clean and follow the wound or dressing instructions given by your team. Protect exposed skin from strong sun and tell the clinic about increasing redness, warmth, drainage, bleeding, or pain around a tumour or treatment site. Record new symptoms, medicines, and when each symptom began.

Attend planned examinations and blood tests even when the skin looks unchanged. Ask before using new creams, herbal products, or anti-inflammatory medicines. Gentle activity, regular meals, and rest can help you manage treatment days, but your own team’s advice takes priority if surgery or radiotherapy is also planned.

Contact the oncology team promptly for a rapidly spreading rash, blistering or peeling skin, persistent diarrhoea, severe abdominal pain, yellowing of the eyes, dark urine, new cough, breathlessness, severe headache, confusion, or marked weakness. These can signal inflammation in organs beyond the skin.

Seek urgent care for severe breathing trouble, swelling of the face or throat, fainting, heavy bleeding, or sudden confusion. If the treated skin becomes hot, very painful, or drains pus, request prompt assessment for infection as well as treatment effects.

Ask why immunotherapy is suitable for your skin cancer, how the tumour and nearby skin will be assessed, which creams or dressings are safe, and who to call outside clinic hours. Ask whether previous autoimmune illness or medicines could change the plan.