Heightening the immune response
est. read time: 6 min
Subcutaneous injections for cancer
Treatment guide:
Subcutaneous injections
for cancer treatment
Treatment guide:
Subcutaneous injections
Fatigue as a side effect
Autoimmune reactions
not in use
A person should not suddenly stop taking antipsychotics. If a person is feeling well and their symptoms are controlled well enough to stop treatment, a healthcare professional will set guidelines for tapering the medication over several months to ensure that symptoms do not come back at lower doses.
T-cells are a type of white blood cell that helps the immune system identify and kill cancer cells. Some cancer cells have high levels of PD-L1, which is a protein that turns off T-cells. This allows the cancer cells to hide from the immune system. PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors block this from happening so the immune system can find and kill the cancer cells.
A cancer care professional injects subcutaneous PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors into the fat under the skin of the abdomen, thigh, or other parts of the body. This may cause some discomfort and swelling at the injection site. These symptoms are usually mild and go away on their own within a couple of days.
According to a 2022 meta-analysis, roughly 30% of people who take checkpoint inhibitors experience fatigue. The risk of fatigue may be higher or lower than this, depending on the specific type of checkpoint inhibitor a person takes. The risk of fatigue increases if the person also takes chemotherapy. Their cancer care team can share tips for managing fatigue.
Taking a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor may cause the immune system to attack organs in the body, which causes inflammation. This inflammation
can cause several symptoms, depending on where it occurs in the body, including:
Certain substances can affect how well antipsychotics work and how quickly a person's body breaks down the medication. For instance, smoking cigarettes causes the body to break down antipsychotics more quickly, whereas caffeine and coffee have the opposite effect.
The use of over-the-counter or prescription medications, supplements, or recreational drugs can also affect how the body processes and absorbs antipsychotics and may affect how well they work.
The length of antipsychotic treatment depends
on the types of symptoms a person is experiencing and how often they are having episodes. Some people may need to take antipsychotics for only
a short time, while others may need to take them long term to prevent additional episodes.
not in use
Skin inflammation may cause itch or rash.
Colon inflammation may cause abdominal pain or diarrhea.
Inflammation in certain organs may cause hormone changes.
Lung inflammation may cause chest pain or cough.
Joint inflammation may cause joint stiffness or pain.
