Itchiness After Immunotherapy

Hi @treeman1942, others members like @sevasti @cwrinkle8391 @paula21 @formydad have mentioned itchiness while taking immunotherapy for bladder cancer or other cancers, and may have some tips to share.

Treeman, what type of immunotherapy drug are you getting? Did your doctor or oncology nurse have any suggestions?

I have itchy rash as well as areas that itch with no rash. On Keytruda 200mg every 3 weeks since last August. I take Benadryl at night and apply hydrocortisone 1% ointment to rash. Seems to help,

Treeman1942,
Did your keytruda itch ever get better? Were you given any medications to help with the itch? I have itchy hands and feet and at times the hand itch is so bad it is intolerable. When I reach that point I ice my hands. I tried taking benadryl during the day but had to take too many pills for it to be effective so will just tough it out and save the benadryl for nightime. It is odd how the itch builds during the morning then starts to calm down as bedtime approaches.

My mom had itchiness when taking EV-Pembro (Pembro is Keytruda, which is immunotherapy). We mostly managed with OTC lotions and ointments such as CeraVe Itch Relief Moisturizing Cream and Cortizone10. When it got particularly bad, her oncologist's office prescribed Triamcinolone Acetonide (common brand name: Aristocort).

Thanks for the reply, my oncologist prescribed hydroxzine tablets which are fine at night but kind of zonks you out during the day. I have not found any cortisone creams that help, but will certainly ask my oncologist about Aristocort.

Rash is a good thing. It is indicative of immunotherapy efficacy. I am hoping to develop rash soon for this reason. I am three weeks into nivolumab (opdivo) myself. I have had iraes (side effects) so far: fatigue, back/shoulder pain (intermittent), diarrhea (intermittent), abdominal pain (intermittent).
https://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/signs-immunotherapy-may-be-working-for-you/#:~:text=Itchy%20skin%20and%20rashes%20are,Bladder%20cancer

I am on immunotherapy and 2 days ago I started being itchy at the base of my head, my neck and my back; it may be an allergy to the treatment. I had a bad headache so 4 days ago I started taking Tylenol and I am worried the itching might be from that. I put cortisone cream on which helps a bit, but I hope to find out why this is happening.

Hi Tanya,

I'm 83, and had an extreme case of itchiness after five months of immunotherapy for bladder cancer. Most of the itchiness was on my chest. I tried about everything, but found a product called Rhuli the best, purchased off Amazon. Cortisone 10 was also good, but not as good as the Rhuli. I quit my immunotherapy after five months because of side effects, mostly loss of taste buds, etc! I've been off the immunotherapy for five months now & my tase buds have not recovered. Now, my issue is loss of too much weight. I wish you the best!

All very uncomfortable but also indicative of efficacy.

Was your treatment immunotherapy (nivolumab, avelumab, pembrolizumab) or targeted treatment (enfortumab vedotin)? Those side effects are more similar to the latter.

So sorry to hear that you had to stop your immunotherapy. I also had bladder cancer, aggressive high-grade pure squamous cell carcinoma. I had to have my bladder removed and now I am on immunotherapy for a year to stop any new cancer sells from forming. I found out November 2024 that I had cancer, I had 4 tumors but one was muscle invasive. I have never smoked and rarely drink alcohol so this was a surprise. Thank you for your suggestion, I will look for it on Amazon.