{"id":980863,"date":"2026-08-04T21:19:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T21:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/980863\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T21:19:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T21:19:28","slug":"what-is-a-cytokine-storm-ut-md-anderson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/980863\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a\u202fcytokine storm? | UT MD Anderson"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Several different <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/treatment-options.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">cancer treatments<\/a> can cause cytokine storms, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/treatment-options\/immunotherapy.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">immunotherapies<\/a> like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/cancerwise\/6-things-we-ve-learned-about-car-t-cell-therapy.h00-159544479.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CAR T cell therapy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/cancerwise\/bispecifics-antibodies--the-next-big-thing-in-lymphoma-treatment.h00-159540534.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">bispecific antibodies<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/treatment-options\/targeted-therapy.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">targeted therapies<\/a> like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/cancerwise\/what-is-a-menin-inhibitor.h00-159854556.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">menin inhibitors<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But what is a cytokine storm, and is it the same thing as cytokine release syndrome? How serious is it, and which patients are most likely to develop this potential <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/patients-family\/diagnosis-treatment\/emotional-physical-effects.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">side effect<\/a>?<\/p>\n<p>Read on, to learn the answers to these and other questions.<\/p>\n<p><b>What is a cytokine storm?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>A cytokine storm is a potentially life-threatening condition that occurs when the immune system releases too many cytokines all at once. It causes a severe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/cancerwise\/how-to-reduce-inflammation-in-the-body.h00-159853767.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">inflammatory<\/a> reaction in your body.<\/p>\n<p>The release of cytokines is part of your body\u2019s normal defense system. When that process gets out of control, it\u2019s called a cytokine storm.<\/p>\n<p><b>What is a cytokine?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Cytokines are natural proteins secreted by various cells, including a type of immune cell called a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/cancerwise\/t-cells--b-cells-and-the-immune-system.h00-159465579.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">T cell<\/a>. They act as a stimulant to fire up the immune system. It\u2019s why you develop a fever when you get an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/cancerwise\/opportunistic-infections--what-cancer-patients-need-to-know.h00-159773289.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">infection<\/a>, and why your hand or leg swells up when you get an injury there.<\/p>\n<p><b>Is a cytokine storm the same thing as cytokine release syndrome?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Yes and no. Cytokine storms can have several different causes, including a severe infection. Cytokine release syndrome is just the term we typically use when a storm is directly related to a patient receiving certain cancer therapies. So, cytokine release syndrome is a subtype of cytokine storms.<\/p>\n<p><b>What are the first signs of a cytokine storm?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Early signs of a cytokine storm include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Body aches<\/li>\n<li>Chills<\/li>\n<li>Fatigue<\/li>\n<li>Fever<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But these can also be symptoms of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/cancerwise\/is-it-a-cold--the-flu--allergies-or-covid-19-coronavirus-how-to-tell-the-difference.h00-159385101.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">flu, a cold<\/a>, or some other type of infection. So, they are not specific to cytokine storms.<\/p>\n<p>Later symptoms can include sudden changes in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/cancerwise\/hypertension-and-cancer--9-things-to-know-about-high-blood-pressure.h00-159853767.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">blood pressure<\/a> (either high or low) and a drop in blood-oxygen levels (hypoxia).<\/p>\n<p><b>Are there any symptoms that are specific to cytokine storms?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>No. That\u2019s why physicians must act based on whatever they see. We don\u2019t want to administer certain drugs too soon, because they can mask a fever. So, we have to rule out an infection first. Usually, we can tell within 24 hours if it\u2019s that or something else.<\/p>\n<p><b>What triggers cytokine storms?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Here at UT MD Anderson, they\u2019re usually a side effect of cancer treatment. Cytokine storms are pretty common with CAR T cell therapy, and to a lesser extent, with bispecific antibodies and menin inhibitors.<\/p>\n<p>But cytokine storms can also sometimes be caused by systemic infections, like COVID-19, if the body responds too strongly to a threat.<\/p>\n<p><b>Which patients are most likely to experience cytokine storms?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Anyone who receives one of the therapies mentioned above could potentially develop one. Currently, they are used to treat certain types of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/cancerwise\/what-are-the-types-of-leukemia--5-things-to-know.h00-159542112.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">leukemia<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/cancerwise\/understanding-the-different-types-of-lymphoma.h00-159852978.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">lymphoma<\/a>, so patients with one of those diseases are probably the most at risk.<\/p>\n<p><b>How are cytokine storms typically treated?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>With cancer patients, there are three options.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Pausing therapy<\/b>: We\u2019ll stop whatever therapy you\u2019re on until the symptoms subside and then carefully reintroduce it.<\/li>\n<li><b>Steroids<\/b>: We\u2019ll administer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/cancerwise\/how-do-steroids-work--in-cancer-treatment.h00-159385890.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">steroids<\/a>, which can help calm your immune system down.<\/li>\n<li><b>Anti-cytokine drugs<\/b>: We\u2019ll administer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdanderson.org\/cancerwise\/immunosuppressants--what-is-their-role-in-cancer-care.h00-159854556.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">anti-cytokine drugs<\/a>, which can reverse your symptoms fairly quickly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>How serious are cytokine storms?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>If left untreated, cytokine storms can be fatal, but they\u2019re manageable in almost every case.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve learned a lot about this side effect since some of the drugs that cause them first came out. And, one of the things we\u2019ve noticed is that if someone has what\u2019s called a high tumor burden \u2014 or a lot of cancer in their system \u2014 the storms tend to be pretty dramatic. So, if we can reduce your tumor burden first, the storm will be less impressive.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, cytokine storms often happen because a lot of cells are being stimulated at once. So, if we can either shorten the duration of that reaction, or control it so that it happens to a lesser degree over a longer period of time, you will not have the storm.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re still coming up with new strategies to manage this side effect, with drugs that only bind for a very short time to the target and don\u2019t give a big stimulation right at the beginning. So, cytokine storms are becoming less of an issue for our patients.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/faculty.mdanderson.org\/profiles\/elias_jabbour.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Elias Jabbour, M.D<\/a>., is a leukemia specialist with a particular interest in acute lymphocytic leukemia.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/my.mdanderson.org\/RequestAppointment\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b>Request an appointment at\u202fUT\u202fMD Anderson online<\/b><\/a><b>\u202for\u202fcall 1-877-632-6789.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Several different cancer treatments can cause cytokine storms, including immunotherapies like CAR T cell therapy and bispecific antibodies,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":980864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5130],"tags":[37967,206639,138220,4345,104031,19562,8504,272632,18301,6015,272631,3314,188570,358,3187],"class_list":["post-980863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-caregivers","tag-diagnosis-treatment","tag-family-friends","tag-houston","tag-immunotherapy","tag-leukemia","tag-lymphoma","tag-lymphoma-and-myeloma","tag-patients","tag-side-effects","tag-stem-cell-transplantation-and-cellular-therapy","tag-survivors","tag-targeted-therapy","tag-texas","tag-tx"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117039330936861683","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/980863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=980863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/980863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/980864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=980863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=980863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=980863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}