Nivolumab

Nivolumab, sold under the brand name Opdivo, is a medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes melanoma, lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, renal cell carcinoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, head and neck cancer, urothelial carcinoma, colon cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, liver cancer, gastric cancer, and esophageal or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer. It is administered intravenously.

The most common side effects include fatigue, rash, musculoskeletal pain, pruritus (itching), diarrhea, nausea, asthenia (weakness), cough, dyspnea (shortness of breath), constipation, decreased appetite, back pain, arthralgia (joint pain), upper respiratory tract infection, pyrexia (fever), headache, abdominal pain, and vomiting. Use during pregnancy may harm the baby. Nivolumab is a human IgG4 monoclonal antibody that blocks PD-1. It is a type of immunotherapy and works as a checkpoint inhibitor, blocking a signal that prevents activation of T cells from attacking the cancer. The most common side effects when used in combination with chemotherapy include peripheral neuropathy (damage to the nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord), nausea, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, abdominal pain, constipation and musculoskeletal pain.

Nivolumab was approved for medical use in the United States in 2014. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. It is made using Chinese hamster ovary cells. Nivolumab is the second FDA-approved systemic therapy for mesothelioma and is the first FDA-approved immunotherapy for the first-line treatment of gastric cancer.