Immunotherapy

Vaccine therapy is a cancer treatment that uses a substance or group of substances to stimulate the immune system to find the tumor and kill it. Vaccine therapy is being studied to treat metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy uses the body's immune system to kill cancer cells. Two types of immune checkpoint inhibitors are being studied in the treatment of childhood rhabdomyosarcoma that has come back after treatment:

Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy uses the body's immune system to kill cancer cells. Two types of immune checkpoint inhibitors are being studied in the treatment of childhood rhabdomyosarcoma that has come back after treatment:

CTLA-4 is a protein on the surface of T cells that helps keep the body’s immune responses in check. When CTLA-4 attaches to another protein called B7 on a cancer cell, it stops the T cell from killing the cancer cell. CTLA-4 inhibitors attach to CTLA-4 and allow the T cells to kill cancer cells. Ipilimumab is being studied in the treatment of childhood rhabdomyosarcoma that has come back or progressed during treatment.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy uses the body's immune system to kill cancer cells. Two types of immune checkpoint inhibitors are being studied in the treatment of childhood rhabdomyosarcoma that has come back after treatment:

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. Nivolumab and pembrolizumab are types of PD-1 inhibitors that are being studied in the treatment of childhood rhabdomyosarcoma that has come back or progressed during treatment.