TriangleFOR PATIENTS · SOURCE READING
Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy
Source: Mycosis Fungoides (Including Sézary Syndrome) Treatment (PDQ®)–Patient Version, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: February 12, 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.
NCI-linked patient version: mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome subset Patient source covers mycosis fungoides/Sezary syndrome; do not apply to all other cutaneous T-cell lymphomas.
Context: Treatment Option Overview / New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.
Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy: Immune checkpoint inhibitors block proteins called checkpoints that are made by some types of immune system cells, such as T cells, and some cancer cells. These checkpoints help keep immune responses from being too strong and sometimes can keep T cells from killing cancer cells. When these checkpoints are blocked, T cells can kill cancer cells better.
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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 is a type of PD-1 inhibitor.
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Information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.
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Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice