The Global Cancer Immunotherapy Market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 15.2%, reaching USD 392.0 billion in 2031 from USD 193.4 billion in 2026.
Cancer immunotherapy is a treatment where the human body makes use of its natural defense mechanism also known as the immune system in order to identify, attack and kill cancer cells. There are many companies working in collaboration for designing drugs for cancer immunotherapy. Adopting unhealthy living conditions and the prevalence of cancer are driving the growth of the global cancer immunotherapy market.
For boosting the immune system certain therapies are used, for example, the BCG therapy which is injected directly into the bladder and is found effective in about 70 percent of patients with early-stage bladder cancer. Other therapies include cytokines, radioimmunotherapy, and oncolytic virus therapy.
The National Cancer Institute of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is at the forefront of developing immunotherapies and is also working towards the understanding of the unknown mechanisms in immune responses against a specific cancer type and specific patient.
One of the NCI-funded research has led to the identification of biomarkers that can help in determining the type of patients more likely to respond to checkpoint inhibitor therapy. The biomarkers are PD-L1 and a genetic feature called microsatellite instability. Hence, it will become easier to detect patients who have these biomarkers and will respond to certain checkpoint inhibitors in comparison to patients lacking these biomarkers.
The cancer immunotherapy market is growing and will continue to grow in the Asia Pacific region due to the growing patient pool in the country accompanied by the growing cancer awareness, technological advancements, and growing demand from emerging economies like India and China. While North America is expected to show a major market share owing to the adoption of early innovations and the presence of key market players in this region followed by Europe.
Organizations investing in advanced cancer immunotherapy
Cancer immunotherapy has fundamentally changed the landscape of oncology in recent years, and significant resources are invested in immunotherapy research. Immunotherapies work by spurring the body’s immune system to fight cancer. The approach is gaining traction in the research community, with approximately 2,000 immunotherapies in clinical-stage development. Big pharmaceutical companies are increasingly investing in advanced cancer immunotherapies to provide more targeted approaches to enhance efficacy and reduce toxicity, which in turn are boosting the cancer immunotherapy market growth. For instance, Incyte developed advanced immunotherapy with epacadostat that works by inhibiting the production of IDO (indoleamine, 2,3-dioxygenase), therefore allowing the body’s immune system to fight back against cancer. Seeing the potential of the immunotherapy, several major drug makers are teaming up with Incyte to test the drug in combination with their own immunotherapies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb is evaluating a combination of Opdivo and epacadostat in late-stage studies targeting non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and head and neck cancer. Similarly, Nektar Therapeutics partnered with Bristol-Myers Squibb to develop biotech’s NKTR-214, a CDD122 agonist.
The increasing incidence of Lung Cancer is propelling the market growth
By application, the global cancer immunotherapy market is segmented into skin cancer, lung cancer, leukemia, bladder cancer, and others. The market for all these applications is being driven by the rising incidences and growing prevalence of different cancers across all regions worldwide. Lung cancer holds a significantly large share in this market on account of its highest occurrence among all other types of cancers. There is a significant increase in smokers and exposure of people to tobacco smoke in the UK, and a growing number of new cases of lung and bronchus cancer in the US. As these economies are strong and out-of-pocket expenditure on healthcare is high, the adoption of lung cancer immunotherapy is witnessing a continuous increase across these regions, which is expected to boost the market growth over the forecast period. This market expansion is further attributable to the inflow of huge investments by major market players and other players in the healthcare landscape, into boosting research and development.
Bladder cancer and leukemia immunotherapy also hold a significant market share due to substantial investments by market players into R&D in cancer immunotherapy for these cancer types.
North America is expected to hold a significant market share
According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), an estimated 1,735,350 new cases of cancer were to be diagnosed in the U.S., and 609,640 people were estimated to die from the disease. The major cause of the rise in cancer disease prevalence is the high obesity rates among Americans. Thus, the rising prevalence of different forms of cancer, coupled with early adoption of advanced technology and high investments in R&D in the healthcare sector, is significantly driving the nation’s cancer immunotherapy market expansion.
The recent rise in the number of drugs being approved by the FDA is also contributing to the growth of the country’s cancer immunotherapy market. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already approved immunotherapy drugs for the treatment of different types of cancers, including lung cancer, melanoma, kidney cancer, leukemia, and bladder cancer.
Increasing number of clinical trials for cancer immunotherapy and emerging startups such as PactPharma, working on a new generation of cancer immunotherapies, are further attracting investments from leading venture and corporate players, which, in turn, will continue to propel the market growth during the next five years. However, the high cost of these drugs, along with the time taken by the FDA to approve new treatments, is currently hindering the growth of the U.S. Cancer Immunotherapy market.
Canada also holds a significant share in the North American Cancer Immunotherapy market on account of the rising prevalence of different forms of cancer in the country.
APAC will witness a significant CAGR during the projected period due to the increasing number of clinical trials for cancer immunotherapy in China, with the country having 116 trials for introducing CAR-T into the mainstream, as against 96 trials currently registered in the U.S., where the therapy was developed. Furthermore, doctors in Hangzhou’s Cancer Hospital have successfully used CAR therapies for treating cancer in humans. The rapid rise in the number of cancer patients in the region is also boosting the availability of these advanced therapies to patients across emerging APAC countries.
March 2026: Bristol Myers Squibb received FDA approval for Opdivo combined with chemotherapy (AVD) as first-line treatment for advanced classical Hodgkin lymphoma, improving progression-free survival in late-stage patients.
February 2026: Merck & Co. received FDA approval for Keytruda in combination regimens for platinum-resistant ovarian and related cancers, strengthening immunotherapy adoption in difficult-to-treat gynecologic malignancies.
November 2025: AstraZeneca announced FDA approval of Imfinzi as the first perioperative immunotherapy for early gastric and gastroesophageal cancers, marking a significant expansion of checkpoint inhibitor use in early-stage oncology.
September 2025: Merck & Co. secured FDA approval for subcutaneous Keytruda (Keytruda Qlex), enabling faster administration of its PD-1 immunotherapy across multiple solid tumor indications, improving treatment delivery efficiency.
June 2025: Merck & Co. received U.S. FDA approval for Keytruda as neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment for resectable locally advanced head and neck cancer, expanding immunotherapy use in earlier-stage disease settings.
Servier
Sanofi
Xencor
Pfizer Inc.
Cellectis SA
| Report Metric | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Market Size in 2026 | USD 193.4 billion |
| Total Market Size in 2031 | USD 392.0 billion |
| Forecast Unit | Billion |
| Growth Rate | 15.2% |
| Study Period | 2021 to 2031 |
| Historical Data | 2021 to 2024 |
| Base Year | 2025 |
| Forecast Period | 2026 – 2031 |
| Segmentation | Type, Application, End User, Geography |
| Geographical Segmentation | North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific |
| Companies |
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