Espa?ol
PDFs by language
Our 24/7 cancer helpline provides information and answers for people dealing with cancer. We can connect you with trained cancer information specialists who will answer questions about a cancer diagnosis and provide guidance and a compassionate ear.
Chat live online
Select the Live Chat button at the bottom of the page
Call us at 1-800-227-2345
Available any time of day or night
Our highly trained specialists are available 24/7 via phone and on weekdays can assist through online chat. We connect patients, caregivers, and family members with essential services and resources at every step of their cancer journey. Ask us how you can get involved and support the fight against cancer. Some of the topics we can assist with include:
For medical questions, we encourage you to review our information with your doctor.
Immunomodulators are a group of drugs that mainly target the pathways that treat multiple myeloma and a few other cancers. They have many ways to work, including working on the immune system directly by turning down some proteins and turning up others.
Thalidomide (Thalomid), lenalidomide (Revlimid), and pomalidomide (Pomalyst) are known as immunomodulating drugs (or IMiDs).
These drugs can cause side effects such as drowsiness, fatigue, constipation, low blood cell counts, and neuropathy (painful nerve damage). There is also an increased risk of serious blood clots (that start in the leg and can travel to the lungs). These tend to be more likely with thalidomide than with the other drugs.
These drugs can also cause severe birth defects if taken during pregnancy.
叠补肠颈濒濒耻蝉&苍产蝉辫;颁补濒尘别迟迟别-骋耻é谤颈苍 (BCG) is a germ that doesn’t cause serious disease in humans, but it does infect human tissues and helps activate the immune system. This makes BCG useful as a form of cancer immunotherapy. BCG was one of the earliest immunotherapies used against cancer and is still being used today.
BCG is used to treat early stage bladder cancer. It is a liquid put into the bladder through a catheter. BCG attracts the body’s immune system cells to the bladder, where they can attack the bladder cancer cells. Treatment with BCG can cause symptoms that are like having the flu, such as fever, chills, and fatigue. It can also cause a burning feeling in the bladder. BCG can also be used to treat some melanoma skin cancers by injecting it directly into the tumors. It's also used as a vaccine against tuberculosis.
Imiquimod is a drug that is applied to the skin as a cream. It stimulates a local immune response against skin cancer cells. It is used to treat some very early stage skin cancers (or pre-cancers), especially if they are in sensitive areas such as on the face.
The cream is applied anywhere from once a day to twice a week for several months. Some people have serious skin reactions to this drug.
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as editors and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). ASCO Annual Meeting 2019: Immunotherapy for lung cancer, gastrointestinal cancers and targeted therapy for breast cancer. Accessed at https://www.cancer.net/blog/2019-06/asco-annual-meeting-2019-immunotherapy-lung-cancer-gastrointestinal-cancers-and-targeted-therapy on December 19, 2019.
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Understanding immunotherapy. Accessed at https://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/how-cancer-treated/immunotherapy-and-vaccines/understanding-immunotherapy on December 19, 2019.
Bayer VR, Davis ME, Gordan RA, et al. Immunotherapy. In Olsen MM, LeFebvre KB, Brassil KJ, eds. Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Guidelines and Recommendations for Practice. Pittsburgh, PA: Oncology Nursing Society; 2019:149-189.
Brodsky AN. Cancer immunotherapy: The year in review and a look at the year ahead. Cancer Research Institute. Accessed at https://www.cancerresearch.org/blog/january-2019/cancer-immunotherapy-2018-review-2019-predict on December 19, 2019.
Hafeez U, Gan HK, Scott AM. Monoclonal antibodies as immunomodulatory therapy against cancer and autoimmune diseases. Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2018; 41:114-121.
Wraith DC. The future of immunotherapy: A 20-year perspective. Front Immunol. 2017:8:1668. Accessed at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5712390/ on December 19, 2019.
Last Revised: December 27, 2019
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.
Sign up to stay up-to-date with news, valuable information, and ways to get involved with the American Cancer Society.
If this was helpful, donate to help fund patient support services, research, and cancer content updates.