What Is Immunotherapy for Kidney Cancer?

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that works by stimulating the body’s own immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells. It has become one of the most important advances in the treatment of advanced or metastatic kidney cancer, especially when surgery alone is not enough.

Unlike chemotherapy, which attacks all rapidly dividing cells, immunotherapy helps the immune system specifically target and attack cancer cells while sparing most healthy tissues.

How Does It Work?

In kidney cancer, immunotherapy drugs are typically immune checkpoint inhibitors. These block the proteins that cancer cells use to “hide” from the immune system.

Commonly used drugs include:

• Nivolumab (Opdivo)
• Pembrolizumab (Keytruda)
• Ipilimumab (Yervoy)

These may be given:

• Alone, for patients who have already had other treatments
• Or in combination, such as nivolumab + ipilimumab, especially in the first-line setting
• Some patients may also receive immunotherapy combined with targeted therapy drugs (e.g., pembrolizumab + axitinib).

Who Receives Immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy is used mainly in:

• Patients with stage 4 (metastatic) kidney cancer
• Those who cannot have surgery
• Cases where the cancer has returned after surgery
• Doctors assess overall health, response to previous treatments, and cancer spread before recommending immunotherapy.

What Are the Side Effects?

Since immunotherapy boosts immune activity, it can sometimes lead to inflammation in healthy organs, such as:

• Skin (rash)
• Colon (diarrhea)
• Lungs (cough, breathlessness)
• Liver (elevated liver enzymes)
• Hormonal glands (thyroid or adrenal issues)

Most side effects are manageable, but patients must be monitored regularly.

Is It Effective?

Immunotherapy has transformed outcomes in many patients with advanced kidney cancer. Some achieve long-term control, and a small number may even reach durable remission.

Looking for more questions?

Visit our Kidney Cancer Questions page for all other topics explained in plain language.