Many people are familiar with common cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation. Although these remain helpful treatments in many cases, immunotherapy provides a novel approach to slowing or stopping cancer in its tracks.

More Options

One of the major benefits of immunotherapy is the possibility of more options beyond chemotherapy and radiation to slow or stop cancer. For people, especially those in the advanced stages of cancer, they may have tried every treatment protocol available and have run out of options. At this point, their only other options might be clinical trials or continuing with chemotherapy and/or radiation in a palliative manner. Although immunotherapy is not guaranteed to prolong life or reduce symptoms associated with advanced disease, the treatment can give hope to people who originally ran out of options.

Different Protocols For Some Cancers

Some especially aggressive cancers, such as melanoma, may benefit from immunotherapy at earlier stages in the disease. Due to many decades of treating people with specific types of cancers, oncologists may already know chemotherapy is generally not effective for certain cancers or systemic chemotherapy may have more risks than benefits. In the case of melanoma, oncologists may recommend immunotherapy starting with tumors that have progressed to stage two. Cancers that are especially aggressive, even when caught early, generally spread quickly and make it harder to for oncologists to get ahead of the disease with conventional treatments. When the immune system can recognize and attack cancer cells, immune cells may catch cancer cells well before imaging tests can identify the disease has spread.

Using The Body's Own Defenses

Unlike using a chemotherapeutic agent to kill cancer cells, which also can kill normal cells, immunotherapy can enhance the immune system to better fight cancer and preserve normal cells. In some cases, immunotherapy is used as a targeted therapy and helps immune cells recognize a specific protein that is produced by the cancer cells. Since the immune system can better recognize these abnormal proteins, the immune cells can hone in on cancer cells and destroy them like they would viruses or bacteria. Some forms of immunotherapy use modified viruses to help fight cancer. A person may receive an injection of a modified virus, which eventually infects the cancer cells. Once the virus destroys the cancer cells and initiates an immune response, the immune system learns to recognize similar cells. This process works similar to routine vaccinations, such as those for the seasonal flu.

Immunotherapy is giving hope to many people, especially those with aggressive or late-stage cancers. Training the body to fight back against cancer is a new option in the war against the disease.