Can one drug treat more than ten types of cancer? Nivolumab, an FDA-approved cancer immunotherapy, is showing promising results in treating cancers, including colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, head and neck cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer (non-small cell), lymphoma (Hodgkin’s), melanoma, mesothelioma, renal cell cancer, and urothelial cancer.
Cancer is a devastating group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled cell growth that invades normal tissues, causing complications. Over the decades, specialists have conducted intensive research to uncover its complexities and find cures for all types of cancer, but still with limited success. Who could imagine that we may carry the treatment already in our bodies? It is our Immune System.
Our immune system is designed to protect our bodies based on the “self and non-self” recognition property. It recognizes invaders, such as bacteria and viruses, and destroys them. Similarly, cancerous cells also differ from the body’s healthy cells and should be identified and destroyed by the immune system. One mechanism cancer uses to trick the immune system is by inhibiting immunological response through secreting a protein known as programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1). It binds to the programmed death-1 (PD-1) receptor on the surface of T cells—a type of white blood cell that plays a crucial role in immune response against cancer—thereby blocking immune system activation.
The cancer immunotherapy approach focuses on solving immune response problems that happen during cancer, opening the door for long-awaited possibilities in cancer treatment. Among the approaches was the invention of “checkpoint inhibitor” drugs, which inhibit the binding between cancer cells and T cells. This blockage prevents cancer cells from tricking the immune system. This leads to the enhancement of the immune system’s anticancer response, eventually helping in the destruction of cancer cells. “Nivolumab”, a monoclonal antibody, is an example of “checkpoint inhibitor” immunotherapy cancer drugs.
In 2014, Nivolumab received FDA approval for use alone or in combination with other treatments, to treat diverse types of cancer. In April 2025, the National Health Service (NHS) in England announced that patients will have their subcutaneous Nivolumab dose administered fortnightly or monthly, depending on the cancer type. This method will take five minutes instead of up to an hour via an IV drip, to treat 15 cancer types, as patients were highly satisfied in clinical trials. The NHS announced that this innovation could treat 15,000 cancer patients yearly. This will help not only to effectively treat cancer, but also to decrease patients’ suffering and reduce pressure on the health system.
Not all cancer immunotherapies act the same way, and they may not treat the same types of cancer. Another exciting cancer immunotherapy is known as “CAR T cells”, which acts in a different way than Nivolumab. CAR T-cell therapy involves extracting a patient’s T-cells and genetically modifying them in the lab to express certain proteins on their surfaces, known as chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). These CARs enable the T-cells to recognize and bind to specific antigens on cancer cells (and sometimes normal cells), significantly enhancing their ability to destroy the cancer cells.
In 2017, CAR T cells received FDA approval to treat children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Later, it was also approved to treat other types of cancer, including multiple myeloma, adult B-cell ALL, follicular lymphoma, large B-cell lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and pediatric/young adult B-cell ALL. Although Nivolumab and CAR T-cell therapy work on the same cell type (T cells), their mechanisms of action and the cancer types they treat differ.
The immunotherapy approach represents a paradigm shift in cancer treatment, as it works on harnessing the body’s immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells, paving the way for safer, more effective treatment options.
References
cancer.gov (1)
cancer.gov (2)