Medically reviewed by Mario Sznol, M.D., medical oncologist · Last reviewed October 2026
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Cancer immunotherapy is treatment that helps your own immune system find and destroy cancer cells. Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of UHealth – the University of Miami Health System, offers immunotherapy in South Florida, including checkpoint inhibitors, CAR T-cell therapy and clinical trials of new immune-based treatments.
Immunotherapy has changed the outlook for many people with cancer. This page explains how it works, which cancers it treats, what treatment is like and how Sylvester helps you manage side effects.
Request an appointment online or call 1-844-324-4673.
- What is cancer immunotherapy?
- Types of cancer immunotherapy at Sylvester
- Which cancers can immunotherapy treat?
- Who is a candidate for immunotherapy?
- Can immunotherapy be combined with other treatments?
- Why choose Sylvester for immunotherapy?
- What to expect during immunotherapy
- What are the side effects of immunotherapy?
- Immunotherapy clinical trials
- Does insurance cover immunotherapy?
- Questions to ask your oncologist
- Frequently asked questions
What is cancer immunotherapy?
Your immune system protects you by finding and destroying cells that do not belong in your body. Cancer cells can hide from the immune system or switch off the immune cells that would attack them. Immunotherapy helps your immune system recognize cancer cells and fight them.
Chemotherapy attacks cancer cells directly, while immunotherapy works through your immune system. That difference gives immunotherapy its own set of side effects, and for some patients the response lasts long after treatment ends. For almost all types of cancer, immunotherapy is now a standard part of care, and is given either by itself or in combination with other types of cancer therapies. The National Cancer Institute offers more background on how immunotherapy works.
Types of cancer immunotherapy at Sylvester
Checkpoint inhibitors
Checkpoints are proteins that act as brakes on immune cells, and some cancer cells use them to avoid attack. Checkpoint inhibitors release those brakes so your immune cells can respond to the cancer. Most block a checkpoint called PD-1 or its partner, PD-L1, and some block another checkpoint called CTLA-4. They are given by IV infusion or, for some drugs, as an injection under the skin, usually every two to six weeks. Common checkpoint inhibitors include pembrolizumab (Keytruda), nivolumab (Opdivo), ipilimumab (Yervoy) and atezolizumab (Tecentriq).
CAR T-cell therapy
CAR T-cell therapy uses your own T cells, a type of white blood cell. Your T cells are collected from your blood and sent to a lab, where they are changed so they can recognize your cancer. The cells are then infused back into your body to find and attack cancer cells. CAR T-cell therapy is approved by the FDA for certain lymphomas, leukemias and multiple myeloma that have come back or have not responded to other treatment.
Sylvester was the first cancer center in South Florida certified to give CAR T-cell therapy, and our physicians took part in the clinical trials that led to its approval. Cell collection, lab processing, outpatient care and inpatient care all happen under one roof, and Sylvester is a Core Clinical Center of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network. Learn more about CAR T-cell therapy at Sylvester.
TIL therapy and other cell therapies
Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy uses immune cells taken from your own tumor. The cells are grown in large numbers in a lab and infused back into your body to attack the cancer. Lifileucel (Amtagvi), the first FDA-approved TIL therapy, treats advanced melanoma that has grown after treatment with a PD-1 inhibitor and, for melanoma with a BRAF V600 mutation, after BRAF-targeted therapy.
Sylvester is the only center in South Florida that offers TIL therapy. Ask your oncologist whether TIL therapy or a cell therapy clinical trial could be right for you.
Bispecific antibodies
Some bispecific antibodies, called T-cell engagers, attach to a cancer cell and an immune cell at the same time, bringing the two together so the immune cell can attack. These drugs are approved for some leukemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma and certain solid tumors.
New immunotherapies in clinical trials
Sylvester researchers are testing the next generation of immune-based treatments. Current trials include cancer vaccines, cytokines (hormones that directly influence the number and function of immune cells), new TIL therapies, new CAR T-cell therapies and oncolytic viruses, which are viruses engineered to infect and destroy cancer cells while alerting the immune system.
Which cancers can immunotherapy treat?
Immunotherapy is approved for more than a dozen types of cancer, and the list grows every year. For certain types of cancer, the immune therapy is combined with other types of cancer drugs. Cancers that are often treated with immunotherapy include:
- Melanoma and other skin cancers
- Lung cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Bladder and other urinary tract cancers
- Head and neck cancers
- Liver cancer
- Colorectal and other cancers with certain genetic features, such as MSI-high tumors
- Triple-negative breast cancer
- Lymphoma, leukemia and multiple myeloma
Who is a candidate for immunotherapy?
Your oncologist will recommend immunotherapy based on several factors:
- Your type and stage of cancer
- Whether the cancer has spread or come back
- Biomarker test results from your tumor
- Treatments you have already received
- Your overall health
- Autoimmune conditions, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn’s disease, or a past organ transplant, since immunotherapy can make these conditions worse
How does biomarker testing guide immunotherapy?
Biomarker tests look for proteins and genetic changes in your tumor that help predict whether immunotherapy will work. Common tests include:
- PD-L1, a protein on some cancer cells and immune cells that switches off T cells; tumors with higher PD-L1 levels are more likely to respond to drugs that block PD-1 or PD-L1
- MSI-high or mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR), genetic features that make some tumors, including colorectal and endometrial cancers, more likely to respond
- Tumor mutational burden (TMB), a measure of how many genetic changes a tumor carries
No single test predicts response for every patient, so your oncologist weighs your results alongside your diagnosis and treatment history. Learn how precision medicine and biomarker testing help match patients with the right treatment.
Can immunotherapy be combined with other treatments?
Yes. Immunotherapy is often given with chemotherapy, targeted therapy or radiation therapy, and some patients receive two immunotherapy drugs together. Immunotherapy may also be given before surgery to shrink a tumor or after surgery to lower the chance the cancer comes back. Your Sylvester team will design a plan that combines treatments in the way most likely to work for your cancer.
Why choose Sylvester for immunotherapy?
South Florida’s only NCI-designated cancer center. Sylvester meets the National Cancer Institute’s highest standards for cancer research and care.
No. 1 in Florida for cancer care. In its 2026 rankings, U.S. News & World Report named Sylvester the top cancer program in Florida and No. 23 in the nation.
First in South Florida for CAR T-cell therapy. Sylvester was the first center in the region certified to give CAR T-cell therapy and helped test it in clinical trials.
The only TIL therapy center in South Florida. Patients with advanced melanoma can receive TIL therapy close to home.
Early access to new treatments. Sylvester runs the only academic Phase I clinical trials program in South Florida, giving eligible patients access to immunotherapies still in development.
A dedicated side-effect team. Since 2022, Sylvester’s immune-related adverse events (irAE) program has brought together oncologists, a pharmacist, a physician assistant and a nurse practitioner who review patients’ symptoms quickly and guide their care. The program is led by Jose Lutzky, M.D., director of cutaneous oncology at Sylvester.
What to expect during immunotherapy
Sylvester gives immunotherapy to hundreds of patients every month. Most immunotherapy drugs are given by IV infusion in a Sylvester infusion suite, and many infusions take 30 to 60 minutes. Pembrolizumab, nivolumab and atezolizumab also come as a shot under the skin that takes only a few minutes. Treatment usually repeats every two to six weeks. A few immune-based treatments come as pills, such as lenalidomide for multiple myeloma, or as creams, such as imiquimod for some early skin cancers. Before each infusion, you will have blood tests that check your liver, kidney and thyroid function, and you will have scans every few months to see how the cancer is responding.
How long you stay on treatment depends on your cancer and how it responds. Many patients receive checkpoint inhibitors for up to two years.
CAR T-cell therapy follows a different path. After your T cells are collected and prepared, you receive a short course of chemotherapy and then a single infusion of your CAR T cells. Your team will monitor you closely. You will need to stay near Sylvester with a caregiver for at least two weeks after your infusion, and you should not drive for at least two weeks.
What are the side effects of immunotherapy?
Because immunotherapy activates your immune system, side effects can occur when immune cells affect healthy organs. Most side effects are mild and manageable when they are caught early. They can include:
- Fatigue
- Skin rash or itching
- Diarrhea or inflammation of the colon (colitis)
- Changes in thyroid function
- Cough or shortness of breath from lung inflammation (pneumonitis)
- Liver inflammation (hepatitis)
Side effects can start weeks or months after treatment begins, and sometimes after treatment ends. Tell your care team about any new symptom right away, and let any other doctor you see know that you have received immunotherapy. Read how Sylvester’s irAE program manages immunotherapy side effects.
CAR T-cell therapy can cause cytokine release syndrome, which brings fever and low blood pressure, as well as temporary confusion or other neurologic effects. Your team watches for these closely in the days and weeks after your infusion.
Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if you have severe trouble breathing, confusion or a seizure.
Support during and after treatment
The Sylvester Cancer Survivorship and Supportive Care Institute helps patients manage symptoms, cope with the emotional side of cancer and plan for life after treatment, with services such as symptom management, palliative care, counseling, rehabilitation and survivorship planning.
Immunotherapy clinical trials
Many of today’s standard immunotherapies were first tested in clinical trials at academic cancer centers like Sylvester. Ask your oncologist whether a trial fits your diagnosis, or find a clinical trial on your own.
Does insurance cover immunotherapy?
Most insurance plans cover immunotherapy that is FDA approved for your type of cancer, though the share you pay varies. Sylvester’s financial counselors can review your benefits and help you plan for costs before treatment begins. See the insurance plans we accept.
Questions to ask your oncologist about immunotherapy
- Is immunotherapy an option for my type and stage of cancer?
- Which biomarker tests have been done on my tumor, and what do the results mean?
- Will I receive immunotherapy alone or with other treatments?
- How often will I need treatment, and for how long?
- Which side effects should I watch for, and who do I call if they happen?
- Is there a clinical trial that could be right for me?
Frequently asked questions
Request an appointment
Talk with a Sylvester oncologist about whether immunotherapy is right for you. Request an appointment or a second opinion online, or call 1-844-324-4673.
About this page: Sylvester’s editorial team wrote this page with help from AI writing tools. Mario Sznol, M.D., a Sylvester medical oncologist, checked every medical fact before it was published. Clinical details are checked against sources such as FDA prescribing information and the National Cancer Institute.
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