Your immune system is loaded with cells that act as an internal army, looking for and destroying infection-causing antigens such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Sometimes, the immune system can even detect cancer cells, although this is challenging as cancer cells often resemble normal cells. In order to help the immune system target cancer cells and fortify its defenses against them, many doctors rely on immunotherapy.
Immunotherapy can stimulate your immune system to fight cancer.
What is Immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy, also known as biologic therapy or biotherapy, uses your own immune system to help fight certain types of cancer such as melanoma, lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma. Also, patients with breast, colon, bladder, lung, kidney and prostate cancers often find success in immunotherapy.
It was a New York surgeon, Dr. William Coley, who first noticed that infections helped a select number of cancer patients in the late 1800s. Dr. Coley treated these patients by infecting them with bacteria, now called Coley toxins. Some success followed, but radiation therapy hit the scene gaining more use and notoriety. Today, doctors have a better understanding about the capabilities of the immune system and how it can fight cancer. This knowledge has led some back to immunotherapy for some cancers.
Immunotherapy treatment repairs, stimulates, or enhances the immune system. It offers man-made immune system proteins and other immune system components to stimulate the immune system to work harder and smarter. Specifically, immunotherapy suppresses cancer growth, promotes cancer cell recognition, and encourages the body’s natural capacity to mend or replace cells that have been injured by other treatments.
What types of Immunotherapy exist today?
There are a number of immunotherapy treatments. Some strengthen the immune system when they’re in the body while others train the immune system to attack specific cancer cells, eliminating them altogether or preventing growth.
• Biological Response Modifiers — These modifiers trigger the immune system to indirectly upset tumors.
• Cancer Vaccines – These stimulate the immune system’s reaction to certain infections often preventing or treating cancer.
• Tumor Vaccines — These vaccines would be injected into the body much like vaccines are for the measles or smallpox. It is designed to both prevent cancerous cells from returning and reject tumors. This treatment continues to be tested in clinical trials.
• Non-specific Immunotherapies – General in nature, these Immunotherapies boost the immune system against cancer cells.
• Colony-Stimulating Factors — This substance stimulates blood cell production which support the immune system during a cancer treatment.
• Monoclonal Antibodies – Although these proteins are manufactured in a lab, they can successfully target a specific portion of a cancer cell. This type of treatment is used to fight cancer cells that cause lymphoma and breast cancer.
The type of immunotherapy recommended is unique to every patient. Often, a particular treatment is given in conjunction with other treatments such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. To ease discomfort and aid in recovery, many doctors also advocate for nutrition therapies, oncology rehabilitation, pain management, mind-body medicine, naturopathic medicine, and spiritual or community support.
What are the side effects of Immunotherapy?
Like any treatment, using immunotherapies to fight cancer can produce side effects. They vary in nature from one patient to the next but can include symptoms resembling the flu.
• Bone pain
• Chills
• Nausea
• Rashes or swelling at injection sites
• Serious allergic reactions
• Fatigue
• Changes in blood pressure
• Fever
• Loss of appetite
• Muscle aches
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Headaches
What an informative post to learn about immunotherapy for cancer. I’ve heard the word many times but didn’t really know what it meant. Are most patients getting this treatment with their regular cancer treatments like chemotherapy?