Cancer immunotherapy refers to the use of the body’s immune system to treat cancer. It involves the use of various strategies to stimulate the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells. Some of the common types of cancer immunotherapy include:
- Monoclonal Antibodies: These are laboratory-produced molecules that can be designed to target specific antigens on cancer cells. They work by either directly killing cancer cells or by tagging them for destruction by the immune system.
- Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: These drugs block certain proteins on immune cells that act as “checkpoints” to prevent the immune system from attacking normal cells. By blocking these checkpoints, immune checkpoint inhibitors can unleash the immune system to attack cancer cells.
- CAR T-Cell Therapy: This involves genetically modifying a patient’s own T-cells to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that recognizes a specific antigen on cancer cells. The modified T-cells are then infused back into the patient to seek out and destroy cancer cells.
- Cancer Vaccines: These vaccines are designed to stimulate the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells. They can be made from cancer cells, parts of cancer cells, or substances that are produced by cancer cells.
- Adoptive Cell Transfer: This involves taking T-cells from a patient’s own immune system and growing them in the laboratory before infusing them back into the patient. This approach can be used to treat certain types of cancer, such as melanoma and leukemia.
Overall, cancer immunotherapy has shown promise as a promising new approach to treating cancer. However, it is still a relatively new field, and more research is needed to fully understand how to optimize these treatments and maximize their effectiveness.