IMMUNOTHERAPY

TYPES OF IMMUNOTHERAPIES

There are various treatment options that can be utilised to strengthen the immune system to aid cancer therapy. These include:

• T-cell transfer therapy, also called immune cell therapy or adoptive immunotherapy, is a treatment that is used to boost the natural ability of T-cells to fight cancer. During this treatment, immune cells will be taken from the tumour, and the most active cells against the cancer are selected or changed in a lab. These cells are then inserted into the body via injection.
• Immune checkpoint inhibitors are drugs used to block immune checkpoints, a normal part of the immune system that are responsible for keeping the immune responses from being too strong. When these checkpoints are blocked, the immune system has a better chance of finding and killing cancer cells.
• Immune system modulators help enhance the body’s immune response against cancer. Some of these agents affect specific areas of the immune system, while others are more generalised.
• Monoclonal antibodies are immune system proteins that are made in a lab to help bind to certain targets on the cancer cells. Some monoclonal antibodies mark cancer cells, making them better seen and destroyed by the immune system.
• Treatment vaccines work against cancer by boosting the immune system’s response to cancer cells. Treatment vaccines are different from the ones that are used to prevent diseases.

HOW IS IMMUNOTHERAPY ADMINISTERED?

Depending on the type of immunotherapy chosen, treatment is administered in several different ways:

• Orally in the form of tablets.
• Intravenously (IV) in the form of direct injections or an infusion.
• Topically through a cream or ointment.
• Intravesically directly into the bladder.