0What is Cancer Immunotherapy?
Cancer immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that boosts the defense power of the body’s natural immune system to control and fight cancer. Some cancer immunotherapies (sometimes referred to as immuno-oncology) consist of antibodies that bind to, and inhibit the function of, proteins expressed by cancer cells. Other cancer immunotherapies include vaccines and T cell infusions. Let’s delve a little deeper into the subject.
Forms of Immunotherapy
- Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
One of the most commonly used forms of Immunotherapy, Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors helps the immune system in recognizing and attacking cancer. The system of “brakes”, used by one’s immune system at the time of attacking invaders such as viruses and bacteria, known as checkpoints in order to prevent them from attacking healthy cells. - Adoptive Cell Therapies
This therapy involves taking the immune cells of a patient and modifying, expanding, and reintroducing them to the patients. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (known as TILs) and Natural killer cells (known as NKs) can be modified and reinfused in patients. Likewise, cancer-fighting T cells are often enhanced and equipped with Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) which are dedicated cancer-targeting receptors. - Cancer Vaccines
Formed out of dead cancer cells, proteins out of cancer cells, or immune system cells, a cancer vaccine helps your body fight naturally with the disease by using your immune system. When one’s immune system is exposed to a foreign protein, known to be an antigen, it results in triggering the immune system to recognize and destroy that antigen.
Other forms of Immunotherapies include Monoclonal Antibodies, Oncolytic Virus Therapy, and Immune System Modulators.
Why Immunotherapy?
Prescribed by oncology pharma companies, Immunotherapy has been approved in many countries including the United States for the treatment of a variety of cancers. With years of research and tests designed by a top pharma company in India in demonstrating the effectiveness of such treatments, Immunotherapies have gone through clinical trials which were thoroughly monitored and controlled by experts involving volunteer patients. Although, Immunotherapy is not effective for every patient and comes up with manageable yet potentially severe side effects. Scientists along with oncology pharma companies are working on ways to figure out which patients are more likely to respond to the treatment and which are not. Since Immunotherapy is not successful in the case of every patient and comes along with manageable yet potentially severe side effects, research is leading to developing new strategies in order to expand the number of patients, who are more likely to benefit from this treatment. While scientists and oncology pharma companies are yet to master the immune system’s capabilities of fighting cancer, Immunotherapy is already saving and extending the lives of many cancer victims. It has the potential of becoming a more effective cancer treatment possessing comparatively fewer side effects.
- What types of cancers can immunotherapy treat?
With the potential of treating all types of cancer, Immunotherapy boosts the ability of an immune system to recognize, fight, and eliminates the cells of cancer present in any part of the body. It could be given with the combination of some other cancer treatments or in silos. Approved by FDA in 2019, Immunotherapy can treat nearly 20 cancers along with cancers which have specific genetic mutations. - What are the side effects of immunotherapy?
Depending upon the type of treatment and location of cancer, side effects can vary from mild, moderate to major as different Immunotherapy causes different side effects. Just like most anti-cancer drugs, common Immunotherapy side effects include skin reactions, flu symptoms, leg swelling, shortage of breath, sinus, muscle ache, headache, diarrhea, weight gain, cough, or even hormonal change causing hypothyroidism.
Cancer Treatment Vaccines
- How do cancer treatment vaccines work against cancer?
As per the top pharma companies in India, Cancer treatment vaccines are a kind of immunotherapy that treats menacing cancer by strengthening the natural defenses of the body against cancer. Unlike cancer prevention vaccines, cancer treatment vaccines are engineered for people who already have cancer hence they work against cancer cells, not against agents that cause cancer. - What are the side effects of cancer treatment vaccines?
Cancer treatment vaccines or anti-cancer drugs may lead to certain side effects, affecting people in a different manner. The side effects profusely depend on certain factors such as the type of cancer, how healthy you are before treatment, how advanced the cancer is, the type of treatment vaccine you are getting, and of course, the dose. Cancer treatment vaccines usually render to flu-like symptoms, which include:
Chills
Fever
Weakness
Dizziness
Muscle or joint aches
Nausea or vomiting
Fatigue
Trouble breathing
Headache
Low or high blood pressure
Whereas, there can be certain allergic reactions as well. Certain treatments such as Sipuleucel-T may cause a stroke. T-vec can also cause Tumor Lysis Syndrome or Herpesvirus as well.
Immunotherapy Statistics:
However, the meticulous and relentless advancements in the field of medicine and research are ensuring that people are cured of cancer with help of anti-cancer drugs and other treatments without any side effects. Research reveals that approx. 40 percent of women and men will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. It is truly noteworthy that more than 15.5 million individuals lived after a cancer diagnosis as per a report on Jan. 1, 2016, it is expected to surpass 20 million by 2026. As per studies 15-20% of patients achieve durable results with immunotherapy and more than 1,000 immunotherapy clinical trials are underway across the country.
Precision medicine, particularly known for being a welcoming change for cancer patients, who have been exposed traditionally to treatments like chemotherapy and radiation attacking their cancer but ends up damaging their body’s healthy tissue in the process.
Let your own body do the healing as your immune system is precise that it is possible for it to target cancer cells exclusively while sparing healthy cells. Also know that if a tumor manages to escape detection, the immune system can re-evaluate and launch a new attack. The immune system has its own “memory” allowing it to remember what cancer cells look like, so it can target and eliminate the cancer if it returns.
Take care of your body, and it will take care of you.
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