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Q&A: The immunity shield

Dr James Larkin, Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden and a Reader at the ICR, explains why immunotherapy represents a promising new approach to cancer treatment.

What is immunotherapy?

58%

of patients had their tumours shrunk by ipilimumab and nivolumab

15,000

cases of melanoma are diagnosed every year in the UK, making it the fifth most common cancer

"For immunotherapies, we’ve never seen tumour shrinkage rates of more than 50%, so this will have a big impact on the future of cancer treatment"

What are the downsides?

15-20%

of patients had their melanoma controlled for long periods by ipilimumab