Atezolizumab

Atezolizumab (Tecentriq®), approved by the FDA on 18 May 2016, is used in patients with urothelial carcinoma that has spread to local and distant tissues (metastatic) during or after platinum-containing chemotherapy and in those whose disease progressed within 12 months after adjuvant or neoadjuvant platinum-containing chemotherapy (bladder cancer).

Like Pembrolizumab and Nivolumab, Atezolizumab also exerts its effect through the PD L1 molecule. Cancer cells produce the PD L1 molecule and send it to the cell surface to evade our defense system. This molecule binds to a T cell, a component of the immune system, through the PD 1 receptor on its surface and can thus evade the defense system.

Atezolizumab blocks this binding, thereby enabling the immune system to easily recognize and destroy cancer cells. As with many cancer drugs, fatigue, reduced appetite, nausea, urinary tract infection, high fever and constipation are its most common side effects.