FOR PATIENTS · SOURCE READING
Immunotherapy
Source: Childhood Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment (PDQ®)–Patient Version, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: May 8, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.
Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary. Independent clinical review is pending.
Context: Treatment Option Overview / The following types of treatment may be used:
Immunotherapy uses the patient's immune system to fight cancer. Substances made by the body or made in a laboratory are used to boost, direct, or restore the body's natural defenses against cancer. Types of immunotherapy include:
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Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy: Some types of immune cells, such as T cells, and some cancer cells have certain proteins, called checkpoint proteins, on their surface that keep immune responses in check. When cancer cells have large amounts of these proteins, they will not be attacked and killed by T cells. Immune checkpoint inhibitors block these proteins, and the ability of T cells to kill cancer cells is increased. The following is a type of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy:
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Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy: Some types of immune cells, such as T cells, and some cancer cells have certain proteins, called checkpoint proteins, on their surface that keep immune responses in check. When cancer cells have large amounts of these proteins, they will not be attacked and killed by T cells. Immune checkpoint inhibitors block these proteins, and the ability of T cells to kill cancer cells is increased. The following is a type of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy:
PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitor therapy: PD-1 is a protein on the surface of T cells that helps keep the body's immune responses in check. PD-L1 is a protein found on some types of cancer cells. When PD-1 attaches to PD-L1, it stops the T cell from killing the cancer cell. PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors keep PD-1 and PD-L1 proteins from attaching to each other. This allows the T cells to kill cancer cells.Pembrolizumab and nivolumab are types of PD-1 inhibitors that may be used in the treatment of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma that has come back after treatment.
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Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice
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