What is our research about?

E-IMMUNE is a big research programme. It is looking at how we can use digital technology to help patients and their clinical team to manage the side-effects from immunotherapy treatment.

Immunotherapy treatment has improved survival from many common cancers.  It uses drugs that help the patient’s own immune system to destroy cancer cells. But many patients experience side-effects which need urgent treatment. Other patients can have side-effects which appear later.  We need new ways of managing these side-effects safely. 

The research will look at using a special digital application on patients’ smartphones or tablets.  It will let patients see their test results.  Patients will be able to report symptoms regularly and check their blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen and glucose levels at home. The digital application lets hospital staff monitor patients more often and give advice on treatment.  We believe it will be better for patients if side-effects are identified and treated earlier.

We hope that this new approach will improve patient outcomes, improve health-related quality of life and reduce time spent in hospital.  We believe that the digital application will allow healthcare professionals and the NHS to make better use of its resources.