Nivolumab is a trade drug that has been lately attaining recognition in the medical world. Healthcare professionals use Nivolumab instead of opdivo as most of the people are well versed with the former. It was approved after attaining positive results from the patients who had participated in a Nivolumab clinical trial.

What is Nivolumab ?
Nivolumab is a prescription medicine that is used to treat blood cancer and metastatic non-small lung cancer. It is majorly used to treat patients whose cancer has come back or has started to spread after having an autologous stem cell transplant and were treated with a drug named Adcetris. However, it is yet not confirmed if Nivolumab usage is safe and effective for children who have cancer.

How effective is Nivolumab?
The results obtained from a Nivolumab clinical trial has shown that Nivolumab has managed to shrink tumors and even eliminate tumors when all other treatments have failed. 95 cHL patients had participated in the Nivolumab clinical trial. 2 out of 3 patients, i.e., 65% patients who had undergone the trial had responded positively to Nivolumab. 7 out of 95 patients had their tumors disappeared completely.

How does Nivolumab function?
Nivolumab is an immunotherapy treatment that strengthens the T cells of the immune system. The function of T cells present in our immune system is to recognize any alien object and cancer cells that are a threat to the human body. Once any threat is detected, the T cells turn active and attack the threat.

But many times the cancer cells present in the human body can disguise and hide from the T cells. The hidden cells later develop and grow. This is where Nivolumab has a vital role to play. It strengthens the ability of T cells to recognize the cancer cells. Nivolumab prevents the ability of cancer cells to disguise, hence helping the T cells.

There are also some side effects of Nivolumab, but they vary from person to person. Therefore, it is advisable to consult a professional doctor before signing up for a Nivolumab clinical trial.