Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that harnesses the power of the immune system to fight cancer. The immune system is the body's natural defense mechanism against foreign substances, including cancer cells. However, cancer cells can sometimes evade detection by the immune system, allowing them to grow and spread.

Figure 1. Immunotherapy

Figure 1 shows how Immunotherapy works. Immunotherapy works by activating or enhancing the immune system's ability to recognize and attack cancer cells. There are several different types of immunotherapy, including:

Immune checkpoint inhibitors:

These drugs target proteins on the surface of immune cells that normally prevent the immune system from attacking healthy cells. By blocking these proteins, immune checkpoint inhibitors allow the immune system to attack cancer cells more effectively.

CAR-T cell therapy:

This therapy involves genetically modifying a patient's own immune cells to recognize and attack cancer cells. The modified cells are then infused back into the patient's body to target and kill cancer cells.

Cancer vaccines:

These vaccines stimulate the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells. Unlike traditional vaccines, which prevent infectious diseases, cancer vaccines are designed to treat existing cancers.

Adoptive cell transfer:

This therapy involves removing immune cells from a patient's body, modifying them in a laboratory to target cancer cells, and then infusing them back into the patient's body.

Immunotherapy has shown promise in treating a variety of cancers, including melanoma, lung cancer, and certain types of leukemia and lymphoma. However, it is not effective for all types of cancer, and researchers are still working to understand its full potential and develop new treatments.

References:

1. https://aighospitals.com/understanding-immunotherapy/

Cite this article:

Hana M (2023), Immunotherapy, AnaTechmaz, pp.135