Drug & supplement interaction

Lycopene + Nivolumab

Nivolumab brand name: Opdivo.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 20, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Lycopene and Nivolumab in our sources. Absence of a documented interaction is not the same as proven safety, and does not guarantee one does not exist. Do not start, stop, or change a medication or supplement based on this page; confirm with your pharmacist or doctor first. Additionally, although there is no interaction, the label for Nivolumab states a food rule worth keeping to, and the two are separately associated with some of the same side effects, which would make a new symptom harder to attribute to one or the other.

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Interaction report

Lycopene and Nivolumab

We checked these two against our interaction database. Here is what we found.

No Known Interaction Found

We did not find a documented interaction between Nivolumab and Lycopene in our sources. This does not guarantee that the combination is completely free of risk — there is often limited research on supplements and herbal products, especially around drug interactions.

If you decide to take both, the practical routine is simple: add one new thing at a time and note the date you started it. If the combination is going to disagree with you, it usually shows in the first days to a couple of weeks — and a start date turns “I’ve been feeling off” into something a pharmacist can actually work with. Do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own.

Always talk with your pharmacist or doctor before making changes to your medications or supplements, particularly if you take several medications or have an ongoing health condition.

Lycopene safety at a glance

Lycopene overall Generally safe Lycopene from food is considered safe, and supplement doses are generally well tolerated.
Pregnancy Likely Safe When consumed in amounts commonly found in foods. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of lycopene supplements during pregnancy... Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Likely Safe When consumed in amounts commonly found in foods. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of lycopene supplements during lactation... Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center) — the full detail is in the Special populations card below. Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Nivolumab and Lycopene? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Nivolumab

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Nivolumab is filed under a single classification — antineoplastics. Lycopene has documented interactions with 1 drug class — the most serious being anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs (moderate) — and none of Nivolumab’s classifications are among them.

Classification data comes from our licensed Natural Medicines dataset. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded there, so this describes how the check was run — it is not a safety guarantee.

Keep it in perspective

Lycopene Does Interact With Other Medications

Lycopene has 122 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Nivolumab isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 122 No known interaction 2,708 (incl. Nivolumab)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Lycopene

Covers the 2,830 medications we’ve checked against Lycopene. Pick one to open its full report.

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Lycopene and Nivolumab May Share Several of the Same Side Effects

This is not an interaction. Neither one changes how your body handles the other, and nothing here says they react together. What our sources do show is that each has separately been linked to the effects below — so taking both can make those effects more likely to turn up, and harder to pin on one or the other if they do. One of them is worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Chest pain Worth acting on Additional detail

    Lycopene

    “A case of chest pain has been reported in a pregnant patient who was taking a specific lycopene product (LycoRed, Jagsonpal Pharmaceuticals) 2 mg daily. The role of lycopene in this event has not been determined.”

    Lycopene · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in myasthenia gravis.

    1 source cited
    1. 60428. Banerjee, S., Jeyaseelan, S., and Guleria, R. Trial of lycopene to prevent pre-eclampsia in healthy primigravidas: results show some adverse effects. J.Obstet.Gynaecol.Res. 2009;35(3):477-482. PubMed

    Nivolumab

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Nivolumab. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Reduced appetite / Stomach upset / Diarrhea / Vomiting / Nausea reported in 5.4% of FDA reports for Nivolumab Additional detail

    Lycopene

    “Orally, gastrointestinal side effects associated with use of lycopene supplements include diarrhea, flatulence, abdominal distension, nausea, vomiting, dyspepsia, and anorexia.”

    Lycopene · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in anorexia.

    5 sources cited
    1. 60372. Clark, P. E., Hall, M. C., Borden, L. S., Jr., Miller, A. A., Hu, J. J., Lee, W. R., Stindt, D., D'Agostino, R., Jr., Lovato, J., Harmon, M., and Torti, F. M. Phase I-II prospective dose-escalating trial of lycopene in patients with biochemical relapse o
    2. 60384. Jatoi, A., Burch, P., Hillman, D., Vanyo, J. M., Dakhil, S., Nikcevich, D., Rowland, K., Morton, R., Flynn, P. J., Young, C., and Tan, W. A tomato-based, lycopene-containing intervention for androgen-independent prostate cancer: results of a Phase II stu
    3. 60417. Schwenke, C., Ubrig, B., Thurmann, P., Eggersmann, C., and Roth, S. Lycopene for advanced hormone refractory prostate cancer: a prospective, open phase II pilot study. J.Urol. 2009;181(3):1098-1103. PubMed
    4. 60433. Haseen, F., Cantwell, M. M., O'Sullivan, J. M., and Murray, L. J. Is there a benefit from lycopene supplementation in men with prostate cancer? A systematic review. Prostate Cancer Prostatic.Dis. 2009;12(4):325-332. PubMed
    5. 60464. Ilic, D., Forbes, K. M., and Hassed, C. Lycopene for the prevention of prostate cancer. Cochrane.Database.Syst.Rev. 2011;(11):CD008007. PubMed

    Nivolumab

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Nivolumab, and in voluntary FDA adverse-event reports. Read the label on DailyMed ›

Reported for Lycopene but not commonly for Nivolumab: bloating or gas.

Effects for Nivolumab come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Lycopene come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 96,645 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Nivolumab that mention that effect — a reporting proportion, not an incidence rate and not evidence the drug caused it. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

Special populations

Lycopene in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy Likely Safe

When consumed in amounts commonly found in foods. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of lycopene supplements during pregnancy. Small, low-quality clinical studies have shown conflicting results about the safety of using lycopene 2-4 mg daily during pregnancy.

Lactation Likely Safe

When consumed in amounts commonly found in foods. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of lycopene supplements during lactation; avoid using in amounts greater than those typically found in foods.

DISCLAIMER: This tool is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice. Patients should consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about therapies and/or health conditions.© 2026 Therapeutic Research Center

How to take them

Some Nivolumab Products Have a Food Rule — Lycopene Should Not Break It

At least one FDA label for a product containing Nivolumab says to take it on an empty stomach. Most supplements — Lycopene included — are taken with a meal, so the easy mistake is swallowing both together at breakfast. Where that rule applies, keep Nivolumab on its own and move Lycopene to a meal later in the day.

This may not be true of your version. Food instructions belong to the product, not the ingredient: two Nivolumab products can carry different directions, and extended-release forms often differ from immediate-release ones. The label we read is quoted below — check the directions on your own box or bottle, or ask your pharmacist, for how to take the exact product you were given.

Table 2: Recommended Dosages of Intravenous OPDIVO in Combination with Other Therapeutic Agents Indication Recommended OPDIVO Dosage Duration of Therapy Unresectable or metastatic melanoma 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks with ipilimumab 3 mg/kg In combination with ipilimumab for a maximum of 4 doses or until unacceptable toxicity, whichever occurs earlier Adult patients and pediatric patients aged 12 years

From the Dosage and Administration section of the FDA label we read for Nivolumab — where that label names a specific product, the instruction is that product's. Read the label on DailyMed ›

A food rule is not an interaction — it is about how much of the medicine you absorb. The directions that came with your own product, and your pharmacist, outrank anything on this page.

Overlapping uses

What Nivolumab Is Prescribed For, and What Lycopene Has Been Studied For

These two come up together because they touch the same health topic — not because they do the same job. Nivolumab is a prescription medicine with approved uses on its FDA label. Lycopene is a supplement: what follows is what researchers have looked at it for, and how strong that evidence is.

Nivolumab is prescribed for: Opdivo (nivolumab) is used to treat many types of cancer in adults, and some in patients 12 years and older. It can be used alone or in combination with other therapies depending on the cancer type and stage. Cancers it treats include melanoma (including after surgery to reduce the chance of the cancer coming back), non-small cell lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, advanced renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer), classical Hodgkin lymphoma, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, urothelial carcinoma (bladder cancer), colorectal cancer with specific genetic features (MSI-H or dMMR), hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer), esophageal cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer, and gastric (stomach) cancer. Some uses require the tumor to test positive for a protein called PD-L1, and some are specific to certain stages of disease or prior treatments received.

Read the rest of what Nivolumab is prescribed for

Your oncologist will determine which use applies to your situation.

Lycopene has been studied for:

  • Bladder cancer studied, not established Lycopene has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Possibly Ineffective Read what the research shows

    Lycopene for bladder cancer

    Dietary lycopene does not seem to affect the risk of bladder cancer.

  • Renal cell carcinoma studied, not established Lycopene has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Read what the research shows

    Lycopene for renal cell carcinoma

    It is unclear if oral lycopene reduces the risk for renal cell carcinoma.

Effectiveness ratings and the research summaries above are the verbatim record from the Natural Medicines database, which grades evidence from “Effective” down to “Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate”. A rating below the top of that scale means researchers have looked at it — not that it works, and never that it can stand in for a prescribed medicine. Do not stop or replace Nivolumab on your own; if you are taking Lycopene for the same health topic, tell your prescriber, especially if the medicine is being adjusted to a target.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Nivolumab

This page covers Lycopene only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Nivolumab page lists 1 supplement it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: American Pawpaw (minor).

By severity: 1 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Nivolumab page

“Nivolumab (Opdivo) is an immunotherapy infusion that trains the body's own immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells, the kind of drug you might expect to carry a long list of supplement warnings. It does not.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Nivolumab interaction page

One more smart check

Taking Lycopene as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 4,889 real supplement products containing Lycopene, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Lycopene. Even though Lycopene itself has no known interaction with Nivolumab, another ingredient on your label might. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Lycopene and Nivolumab Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement Lycopene
Top 5%

#50 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Nivolumab
Top 25%

#614 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Where does our data come from?
  • Source: the Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) clinical database — the evidence-graded professional reference for herb & supplement interactions.
  • Citation library: 103,510 references behind our interaction content, 65,311 of them resolved to verified PubMed/DOI sources. See every Lycopene reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Lycopene and Nivolumab records this page draws on were last updated July 11, 2026.
  • What “no known interaction” means: no documented interaction in the sources above — not a guarantee of safety. Supplements are studied far less than prescription drugs, so we say exactly what the evidence supports, and nothing more.
Data structure & sourcing designed and verified by .
Supplement

About Lycopene

What is Lycopene?

Lycopene
  • Heart health
  • Prostate health
  • Antioxidant support
  • Sun/skin protection
  • General wellness

Lycopene is a red plant pigment and antioxidant found mainly in tomatoes and other red fruits. Eating lycopene-rich foods is linked with possible heart and prostate benefits, but evidence from supplements is mixed and far from conclusive. For most people, getting lycopene from food is a safe and reasonable choice; talk to your pharmacist before taking high-dose supplements.

Pigment extracted from the fruit (mainly tomato) · Capsules, softgels, and as a natural food source (tomatoes, watermelon, guava, pink grapefruit)

An interaction check asks whether these two react with each other — it does not ask whether Lycopene is a good idea for someone in your situation. Here is what our Lycopene record says about it on its own.

Lycopene: dosing

There is no official standard dose of lycopene for any health condition. Amounts used in studies have varied widely, and it is unclear what dose, if any, provides a benefit.If you choose to take a supplement, follow the directions on the product label and do not exceed the recommended amount. For many people, getting lycopene from a balanced diet rich in tomatoes and other red fruits is a simple and reasonable approach.

From our Lycopene monograph — the full record covers uses, side effects and every documented interaction.

Read the full Lycopene monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Nivolumab Injection

What Is Nivolumab Injection Used For?

Brand name: Opdivo

Opdivo (nivolumab) is used to treat many types of cancer in adults, and some in patients 12 years and older. It can be used alone or in combination with other therapies depending on the cancer type and stage. Cancers it treats include melanoma (including after surgery to reduce the chance of the cancer coming back), non-small cell lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, advanced renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer), classical Hodgkin lymphoma, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, urothelial carcinoma (bladder cancer), colorectal cancer with specific genetic features (MSI-H or dMMR), hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer), esophageal cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer, and gastric (stomach) cancer.

Some uses require the tumor to test positive for a protein called PD-L1, and some are specific to certain stages of disease or prior treatments received. Your oncologist will determine which use applies to your situation.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Nivolumab

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (96,645 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Malignant neoplasm progression 9,878 reports
Diarrhea 5,251 reports
Fatigue 4,195 reports
Fever 3,721 reports
Nausea 3,182 reports
See full Nivolumab Injection drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Lycopene

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Lycopene — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

0Major
122Moderate
0Minor
2,707No known interaction
122 Moderate 2,707 No interaction
Moderate

122 interactions

Showing 60 of 122 moderate interactions — see all 122 on the Lycopene page.

No interaction 2,707 drugs checked — show the list

We also checked Lycopene against these medications and found no known interaction in our sources. Open any page to confirm.

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,707 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Lycopene list.

See the full Lycopene interactions page
See every supplement checked against Nivolumab, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Lycopene References

The 10 references that drive our Lycopene monograph and interaction data, from the evidence-graded Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) database. Citations with a link open the study on PubMed or the publisher’s site.

  1. Sharma, J. B., Kumar, A., Kumar, A., Malhotra, M., Arora, R., Prasad, S., and Batra, S. Effect of lycopene on pre-eclampsia and intra-uterine growth retardation in primigravidas. Int J Gynaecol.Obstet. 2003;81(3):257-262. PubMed
  2. Hsiao, G., Wang, Y., Tzu, N. H., Fong, T. H., Shen, M. Y., Lin, K. H., Chou, D. S., and Sheu, J. R. Inhibitory effects of lycopene on in vitro platelet activation and in vivo prevention of thrombus formation. J Lab Clin Med 2005;146(4):216-226. PubMed
  3. Clark, P. E., Hall, M. C., Borden, L. S., Jr., Miller, A. A., Hu, J. J., Lee, W. R., Stindt, D., D'Agostino, R., Jr., Lovato, J., Harmon, M., and Torti, F. M. Phase I-II prospective dose-escalating trial of lycopene in patients with biochemical relapse o
  4. O'Kennedy, N., Crosbie, L., Whelan, S., Luther, V., Horgan, G., Broom, J. I., Webb, D. J., and Duttaroy, A. K. Effects of tomato extract on platelet function: a double-blinded crossover study in healthy humans. Am.J.Clin.Nutr. 2006;84(3):561-569. PubMed
  5. Jatoi, A., Burch, P., Hillman, D., Vanyo, J. M., Dakhil, S., Nikcevich, D., Rowland, K., Morton, R., Flynn, P. J., Young, C., and Tan, W. A tomato-based, lycopene-containing intervention for androgen-independent prostate cancer: results of a Phase II stu
  6. Schwenke, C., Ubrig, B., Thurmann, P., Eggersmann, C., and Roth, S. Lycopene for advanced hormone refractory prostate cancer: a prospective, open phase II pilot study. J.Urol. 2009;181(3):1098-1103. PubMed
  7. Banerjee, S., Jeyaseelan, S., and Guleria, R. Trial of lycopene to prevent pre-eclampsia in healthy primigravidas: results show some adverse effects. J.Obstet.Gynaecol.Res. 2009;35(3):477-482. PubMed
  8. Haseen, F., Cantwell, M. M., O'Sullivan, J. M., and Murray, L. J. Is there a benefit from lycopene supplementation in men with prostate cancer? A systematic review. Prostate Cancer Prostatic.Dis. 2009;12(4):325-332. PubMed
  9. Ilic, D., Forbes, K. M., and Hassed, C. Lycopene for the prevention of prostate cancer. Cochrane.Database.Syst.Rev. 2011;(11):CD008007. PubMed
  10. Sawardekar SB, Patel TC, Uchil D. Comparative evaluation of antiplatelet effect of lycopene with aspirin and the effect of their combination on platelet aggregation: an in vitro study. Indian J Pharmacol 2016;48:26-31. PubMed

Medication overviews come from MedlinePlus (NIH); supplement label data from the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database. Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Lycopene and Nivolumab Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Lycopene with Nivolumab?
We do not list a known interaction between Lycopene and Nivolumab. That does not guarantee the combination is risk-free, so confirm with your pharmacist or doctor — especially if you take other medications or have a health condition.
Do Lycopene and Nivolumab have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 6 of the same effects. That is not an interaction: neither changes how your body handles the other. It does mean that if one of those effects turns up, it can be harder to tell which one is behind it. They are listed on this page with the source behind each.
Should I take Lycopene and Nivolumab at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Nivolumab says to take it on an empty stomach, and supplements are usually taken with a meal — so taking them together at breakfast is the easy mistake. Where that applies, keep Nivolumab on its own and move Lycopene to a meal later in the day. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient, so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
Are Lycopene and Nivolumab used for the same thing?
They overlap in purpose, which usually means the real question is whether you need both rather than whether they are safe together. This page lists the shared uses and how strong the evidence is for Lycopene in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Nivolumab is being adjusted to a target.
How was the Lycopene and Nivolumab combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Nivolumab is filed under 1 classification, and Lycopene has documented interactions with 1 drug class — none of Nivolumab's classifications are among them. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded in our dataset, so this describes how the check was run rather than guaranteeing safety.
Does Lycopene interact with any other medications?
Yes. Lycopene has 122 documented drug interactions in our database — Nivolumab is simply not one of them. If you take anything else, it is worth checking each one; they are all listed on this page.
Does Nivolumab interact with any supplements?
Yes. Nivolumab has documented interactions with 1 supplement in our database — Lycopene is not one of them. The Nivolumab interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Where next

Keep Exploring

Lycopene monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Nivolumab Injection drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Nivolumab supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Nivolumab, ranked by severity Supplement interaction checker Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z Every drug we’ve checked against herbs & supplements References The 10 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Nivolumab and Lycopene?

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This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.