TriangleFOR PATIENTS · SOURCE READING
Immunotherapy
Source: Thymoma and Thymic Carcinoma, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: January 11, 2023 · 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: Thymoma and thymic carcinoma treatment / New treatments being tested in clinical trials
Immunotherapy is a treatment that 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.
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Immune checkpoint 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 that is being studied in the treatment of recurrent thymoma and thymic carcinoma.
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Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice