Posted in: Cancer by Dr. Tarang Krishna Posted Date: 28 Feb, 2020
Immunotherapy plays an extremely important role in what we call modern treatment of advanced cancer. It is changing the way doctors treat cancer but it doesn’t work for everyone or for every type of cancer. But why does it act as a lifesaver for some people and is completely ineffective on others? The answer is that it all depends on the type of cancer and on other factors which researchers are still trying to figure out. Immunology cancer treatment can be used for various reasons:
- Stop or slow the growth of cancer.
- Stop cancer from spreading to other parts of the body.
- Help the immune system work better to destroy cancer cells.
- Use modified immune cells targeted against cancer.
Types of immunology cancer treatment
Here are a few types of immunotherapy:
Monoclonal Antibodies
In this treatment, the engineered versions of the immune system proteins are designed to attack specific parts of cancer cells.
Cancer Vaccines
The substances here are put in the body to activate an immune response against certain types of cancer.
Checkpoint Inhibitors
This is one of the most common types of immunotherapy treatment where the medicines are used to help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells.
Non-specific immunotherapies
The non-specific immunotherapy treatments boost the immune system in a general way. However, doing so may still help the immune system attack cancer cells.
Benefits of Immunotherapy
Strengthen other treatments
According to doctors, other therapies such as chemotherapy may work better if applied in tandem with immunotherapy.
Effective when other treatments aren’t
Certain cancers such as skin cancer don’t respond well to chemotherapy or radiation but have responded well to immunotherapy.
No or fewer side effects
Since the treatment targets only the immune system, there are no or fewer side effects.
Low chances of recurrence
Your immune system learns to go after cancer cells if they return which is commonly termed as immune memory.
Risks of immunotherapy
Side effects
There are some immunotherapies which can rev up the immune system and can result in flu-like symptoms. You might also experience weight gain, stuffiness, diarrhoea, and swelling.
Lengthy treatment
Immunotherapy usually takes longer to work than other conventional forms of treatment.
May not work always
Immunotherapy may not work on all types of cancer.
May stop working
Immunotherapy may also stop having an effect after a certain number of sessions.
Who benefits from immunology cancer treatment?
The main disadvantage is that it doesn’t work for all patients and all types of cancer. In fact, determining who will definitely from the treatment is not an exact science. However, cancer that doctors usually treatment with immunotherapy range from lung cancer, head and neck cancers, kidney cancer, lymphoma, bladder cancer, and some skin cancers (particularly melanoma). These are some of the most common cancers, which is why researchers have tested immunotherapy on them.
Immunotherapy can be administered in different such as:
Intravenous
The immunotherapy is put into a vein using an IV.
Topical
The immunotherapy comes in a cream.
Oral
The immunotherapy comes in a capsule or pill.
Intravesical
The immunotherapy is administered into the bladder.
You will undergo consistent checkups, blood tests, and scans to see whether cancer will respond to the treatment or not. Since many people have a delayed response, it may take a while to know whether immunotherapy has worked.
Immunotherapy isn’t for everyone!
We know that not every person’s immune system or every cancer responds well to immunotherapy. Many types of cancer such as lung cancer and melanoma usually respond well to the immunotherapy treatments but it is important to remember that every individual is different and therefore, everyone responds differently to the treatment. Immunotherapy involves using the person’s own immune system to fight against cancer and often can mean using antibodies to help the immune system identify cancer cells.
Cancer cells hide or disguise themselves to avoid getting found and destroyed by the immune system and modern immunotherapy drugs help peel the masks off those cancer cells so that they can be found and destroyed.
The oncologists, however, are not yet perfect at picking out the people who will benefit the most but they do have some tools to help them decide. For instance, doctors usually routine test patients who have non-small-cell lung cancer for a protein called PD-L1. Those with cancer containing high levels of PD-L1 tend to respond better to immunotherapy, he says. Research is ongoing as to why immunotherapy works better for some cancers than others.
But remember, the goal of immunotherapy is to control the growth and spread of cancer. People with cancer can live for several years when on immunotherapy treatment as it is known to improve the quality of life.
Looking for immunotherapy treatment in India?
Cancer Healer Center is one of the leading cancer hospitals in India. The team of Dr Tarang Krishna and his doctors make sure that the most effective cancer techniques are used to achieve long-term survival chances and improved quality of life. They have immense knowledge of the treatment of all cancer types and offer phenomenal solutions custom-fitted to patients needs and make sure the patients fight the disease with hope, faith, and will power. Aiming to enhance the potential and possibilities of cancer immunotherapy in India and around, the centre strives to bring out the best standard of conduct and ethics in medical practice.
For more information about cancer treatment, please get in touch.
About The Author
Dr. Tarang Krishna
Dr. Tarang Krishna, Director at Cancer Healer Center, is the perfect epitome of perseverance and dedication.
He has an impressive educational background to his credit. He completed his under-graduation in Medicine and Surgery from Pune, India and did his MD (Hom) from Agra University, India.Thesis on MD was on "Treatment of cancer" where he presented cases of almost 100 patients and the response of the medicines in the treatment of cancer. He then completed his Ph.d in Oncology from the United Kingdom and his thesis on the ‘Efficacy of Medicines in the Treatment of Cancer’ is greatly commemorated and honored.
He befittingly represents alternate medicine and has contributed significantly towards the development and research of immunotherapy.
Through his nationwide chain of “Cancer Healer Center” clinics he strives to offer superior cancer treatment, using immunotherapy.
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