Millions and millions of people, kids and adults alike, succumbed to this deadly disease, cancer. After unrelenting trials and experiments, there’s a better chance to battle the disease and earn the victory to a happy cancer-free life. 

One such weapon in the battle is immunotherapy, which helps the body’s immune system fight cancerous cells. Our white blood cells and tissue of the lymph system are tirelessly fighting to protect our body from infections and diseases.

It is a biological therapy where substances from living organisms are employed to treat an ailment. 

Today, let’s learn in detail about immunotherapy in oncology treatment. 

Understanding Immunotherapy and its Role in Oncology Treatment

Immune cells exist to safeguard our body from foreign particles. It detects and kills abnormal cells and, hence, destroys cancer at its roots. 

Sometimes, it is possible to find immune cells around cancerous growth, called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, or TILS, allowing patients with these cells to fight cancer better than ones without them. 

It is also crucial to consider the fact that our body is naturally brilliant; even cancerous cells go unnoticed by the immune system. This is due to the fact that cancerous cells may have 

• Genetic changes that make them less visible to the immune system
• Proteins that switch off the immune system
• Turn the normal cells in the vicinity into cancerous cells, causing interference in the immune system’s response. 

Different Types of Immunotherapy and How They Work

There are multiple types of immunotherapy, each of which is used differently to target and treat different cancers. 

• Immuno checkpoint inhibitors: These drugs block immune checkpoints, which are a normal part of the human body, and keep the immune system in check so that it won’t be too strong. By blocking these checkpoints, the drugs allow the immune system to be strong enough to fight the cancerous cells. 

• T-cell transfer therapy: T cells that develop from bone marrow boost the body’s natural ability to fight cancer. Immune cells from your tumor, where they are stronger, are taken from your body, selected, modified, and grown in large batches in the lab, and put back into your body to battle those cancerous cells. 

• Monoclonal antibodies: These cells are created in the lab to bind to specific targets on cancer cells, which results in cancer cells being more visible to the immune cells and increasing the possibility of their destruction of the cancer cells. This is also called therapeutic antibodies. 

• Treatment vaccines: These vaccines boost the immune system’s response to cancerous cells. 

• Immune system modulators: This treatment increases the response of the body’s immune system to cancer cells.

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