UNDERSTANDING IMMUNOTHERAPY
Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment designed
to work with the body’s natural defences to treat the cancer.
ABOUT KEYTRUDA
WHAT IS IMMUNOTHERAPY?
KEYTRUDA is known as an immune therapy (or immunotherapy) because it works with your immune system to help find and treat cancer cells. KEYTRUDA helps your immune system do what it is designed to do — help your own body treat cancer.
Your immune system
Your body defends itself against disease with a very complex combination of organs, cells and substances that together form the immune system. This system identifies things in your body that could harm you, and works to remove them. These harmful substances may have entered your body from outside, e.g. bacteria; or may have developed within your body, e.g. cancer cells.
The immune system’s ability to find and remove abnormal cells usually stops cancers from developing, however some cancer cells find ways to stop the immune system from destroying them, and some cancer cells can change over time and then hide from the immune system.
Immunotherapy
Over time, medicines have been developed that can help your immune system fight cancer. They can do this by:
- stimulating your immune system to work harder, or smarter
- removing barriers to the immune system attacking the cancer.
KEYTRUDA is an immunotherapy. It helps your own immune system fight your cancer.
KEYTRUDA is not chemotherapy. Chemotherapy involves the use of medicines to kill or slow the growth of cancer cells.
References
KEYTRUDA Australian Consumer Medicine Information, www.msdinfo.com.au/keytrudacmi.
Cancer Council Australia. 2021. Understanding Immunotherapy, A guide for people affected by cancer. Available at: www.cancer.org.au/assets/pdf/understanding-immunotherapy-fact-sheet. Accessed September 2023.
Cancer Council Australia. Chemotherapy. Available at: www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/treatment/chemotherapy. Accessed September 2023.
For further information about your condition or treatment consult your healthcare professional or refer to the Consumer Medicine Information for KEYTRUDA.
AU-KEY-00458. Issued September 2023.
MSD Medical Information or to report product complaints (including adverse events): 1800 818 553
This educational website is sponsored by Merck Sharp & Dohme (Australia) Pty Ltd. Information displayed on this website is only intended for Australian residents who are 18 years or older and are currently being treated with KEYTRUDA and as such, its contents have been designed to comply with Australian laws and regulations. The information on this website is educational only and is not intended to be used for any self-diagnosis purposes nor to replace the advice of your Doctor or healthcare professional. Please consult your Doctor or healthcare professional for further information on KEYTRUDA. Use and access of this website is subject to the terms and conditions set out in our Legal Agreement and Privacy Policy.
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