Immunotherapy has proven to be a great leap forward in treating cancer, as these drugs help activate the body’s immune system to better detect and kill the cancerous cells growing and hiding in the body. However, about “30 to 40 percent of the patients [treated with immunotherapy drugs] develop an autoimmune disease and that’s where I come in,” said Alexa Meara, MD, a rheumatologist who specializes in treating autoimmune diseases. “It can happen at any point in the treatment. Although it’s most common in the first three to six months, it can happen a year after a patient is off these drugs.” In this episode, Meara explains the different types of autoimmune diseases cancer patients can suffer from (rheumatoid arthritis and vasculitis are two examples), how they impact patients, and new studies and clinical trials she and other pioneers in this new field are working on to reduce symptoms and increase the quality of life of patients. “This is a really exciting field because it’s so new and it’s so collaborative,” Meara said, adding she believes she is the only rheumatologist employed fulltime in the country working in a cancer hospital. Meara works closely with the James oncologists treating cancer patients who develop autoimmune symptoms, and she is part of an international consortium that shares ideas and results.