Back to FAQ Categories
Immunotherapy FAQs
Related Questions
Immunotherapy
Who Qualifies for Immunotherapy?
- Not everyone with cancer qualifies for immunotherapy. Eligibility depends on factors including cancer type, disease stage, specific tumor biomarkers, and overall health.
- The decision is typically made on a case-by-case basis by a patient’s oncology team.
Factors that Affect Immunotherapy Eligibility
A physician will typically evaluate:
- Cancer type and stage — some immunotherapies are only approved for advanced or metastatic disease
- Biomarker testing — labs may test for PD-L1 expression, microsatellite instability (MSI-H), mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR), or tumor mutational burden (TMB) to predict response
- Prior treatments — some immunotherapy drugs are approved after chemotherapy has been tried; others are used as first-line treatment
- Overall health and performance status — patients must be healthy enough to tolerate potential immune-related side effects
- Autoimmune conditions — existing autoimmune diseases may increase the risk of side effects and could affect eligibility
FDA-Approved Immunotherapy Cancer Treatment
The FDA has approved immunotherapy treatments for cancers such as:
- Bladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer — multiple FDA-approved options available
- Head and neck cancers — approved for recurrent or metastatic disease
- Certain blood cancers (Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia) — CAR-T cell therapy and checkpoint inhibitors may apply
- Colorectal cancer with specific biomarkers (MSI-H or dMMR status)
- Some solid tumors with high tumor mutational burden (TMB-H), regardless of cancer type
Read more about cancer and immunotherapy cancer medications here:
Is Immunotherapy Right For You?
If your doctor has recommended immunotherapy or you'd like to learn whether immunotherapy may be an option for you, contact AmeriPharma Specialty Care to speak with a specialist today.
Contact a specialist
→
24/7/365 Phone support
Open on all federal holidays