The short answer
Jemperli (Dostarlimab) is a type of immunotherapy called an immune checkpoint inhibitor. It is a lab-made antibody that blocks the PD-1 brake on immune cells, helping the immune system attack cancer — especially cancers with a repair-gene change called dMMR. It is used to help treat endometrial (uterine) cancer and some other mismatch-repair-deficient cancers, and is usually given as an IV infusion, sometimes with chemotherapy. Like all cancer medicines it can cause side effects; this page explains the common ones and the warning signs to report. It is educational only and not a substitute for your care team's advice.
Jemperli is the brand name; its generic name is dostarlimab.
It is a type of immunotherapy called an immune checkpoint inhibitor — it is a lab-made antibody that blocks the PD-1 brake on immune cells, helping the immune system attack cancer — especially cancers with a repair-gene change called dMMR.
It is used to help treat endometrial (uterine) cancer and some other mismatch-repair-deficient cancers.
It is usually given as an IV infusion, sometimes with chemotherapy.
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The full explanation.
A PD-1 blocker chosen by a tumor test
Jemperli is the brand name. Dostarlimab is the generic name. It blocks PD-1, a receptor on T cells that tumors press to switch the immune response off. With PD-1 blocked, the T cell keeps going.
A tumor test drives most of its use. Cancers that are mismatch repair deficient, written dMMR, have lost the machinery that corrects DNA copying errors. They pile up mutations, which makes them look strange to the immune system, and that is what this class of drug exploits. Ask whether your tumor was tested for dMMR, and what the result was.
Endometrial cancer, and a tumor-agnostic use
The label has two parts.
For womb cancer, dostarlimab is approved with carboplatin and paclitaxel, then continued alone, for adults with primary advanced or recurrent disease. This use does not require a dMMR result. It is also approved alone for dMMR womb cancer that has grown during or after platinum chemotherapy, when surgery or radiation cannot cure it.
The second part is unusual. Dostarlimab is approved for any dMMR solid tumor that has come back or advanced despite earlier treatment, when there is no good alternative. The cancer's site of origin does not matter; the test result does.
What accelerated approval means here
That second, tumor-agnostic use holds accelerated approval. The FDA granted it on how many tumors shrank and how long the shrinkage lasted, rather than on evidence that people lived longer. The label says continued approval may depend on confirmatory trials.
This is not a warning that the drug does not work. It is a statement about how much is known, and it is fair to ask your oncologist what the evidence looks like for a cancer like yours.
Immune-related reactions and when they show up
Common effects are tiredness, nausea, diarrhea, rash and aching.
The more serious pattern is the immune system turning on healthy tissue. The label describes reactions that can be severe or fatal, in the lungs, bowel, liver, hormone glands, kidneys, skin and elsewhere. They can appear at any point, including after treatment ends. Caught early, most respond to steroids.
The infusion schedule
For womb cancer with chemotherapy, it is given by infusion every 3 weeks for 6 cycles. After that the infusions move to every 6 weeks at a larger amount, continuing until the cancer grows, until side effects stop it, or for up to 3 years. Each dose runs into a vein over about 30 minutes.
When to get help sooner
- Call 911 or go to an emergency department if you cannot catch your breath, your chest hurts, or a rash starts blistering or peeling away from the skin.
- Call your care team the same day if diarrhea is worse than usual or has blood in it, your eyes or skin turn yellow, you are passing much less urine, or you feel drained and dizzy with unusual thirst.
- Call your care team within a day or two if a dry cough is new, a rash is spreading slowly, or you feel colder, heavier or flatter than normal, which can point to a hormone gland.
These reactions can begin months after the last infusion, so raise them even if treatment has finished.
Sources
https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=095eab9f-545a-4f12-bfb7-19477fb901a5
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/drugs/dostarlimab-gxly
Words to know
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Common questions
What is Jemperli?
Jemperli (Dostarlimab) is a type of immunotherapy called an immune checkpoint inhibitor. It is a lab-made antibody that blocks the PD-1 brake on immune cells, helping the immune system attack cancer — especially cancers with a repair-gene change called dMMR. It is used to help treat endometrial (uterine) cancer and some other mismatch-repair-deficient cancers.
How is Jemperli given?
It is usually given as an IV infusion, sometimes with chemotherapy. It is given as an intravenous (IV) infusion — a slow drip into a vein — at a clinic or hospital, usually repeated on a schedule of cycles with rest periods in between. The exact schedule is set by your care team.
What are the common side effects of Jemperli?
Commonly reported side effects include tiredness, nausea, diarrhea, rash, and aches. Not everyone gets them, and many can be managed. Tell your care team about anything new or worsening.
Does Jemperli cure cancer?
That depends on the person, the cancer type, and its stage. For some people a medicine like this can control cancer for a long time or be part of a curative plan; for others the goal is to slow the cancer or ease symptoms. Your care team can explain the goal in your situation.
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Sources last checked: 2026-07-14 what this meansLast updated: 2026-08-19Next planned review: 2027-01-14
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How this page was created
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes. We do not employ clinicians and do not intend to — our work is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Editorial review complete — This page completed Cancer Explained's editorial checks (sources, safety, plain language, duplication). It has not been reviewed by a physician or other healthcare professional.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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