Immunotherapy is a kind of treatment for cancer that helps combat cancer in the immune system. Your body is supported by the immune system to prevent infections and other diseases. It is composed of white blood cells and the lymph system’s cancerfax.comorgans and tissues.
Immunotherapy is a form of therapy that is biological. Biological therapy is a method of treatment that uses substances made from living organisms to treat cancer.
The immune system recognizes and kills defective cells as part of its normal function, which most likely prevents or curbs the growth of many cancers. In and around tumors, for example, immune cells are often detected. These cells are a sign that the immune system is reacting to the tumor, called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes or TILs. People who have TILs in their tumors sometimes do better than people whose tumors do not contain them.
Even though the immune system can prevent or slow cancer growth, cancer cells have ways to avoid destruction by the immune system. For example, cancer cells may:
Immunotherapy helps the immune system better act against cancer.
Several types of immunotherapies are used to treat cancer. These include:
In order to treat several forms of cancer, immunotherapy drugs have been licensed. Immunotherapy, however, is not yet used as commonly as surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy. See the PDQ® adult cancer treatment summaries and childhood cancer treatment summaries to learn about whether immunotherapy can be used to treat the cancer.
Immunotherapy can cause side effects, many of which arise when healthy cells and tissues in your body are being damaged by the immune system that has been resurrected to function against cancer.
Different forms of immunotherapy may be given in different ways. These include:
How often and how long you receive immunotherapy depends on:
Every day, week or month, you might have treatment. Some types of cyclically administered immunotherapy. A duration is a treatment time accompanied by a rest period. The rest period provides an opportunity for your body to recover, respond to immunotherapy, and build new healthy cells.
You’ll often see the doctor. He or she is going to give you physical tests and ask how you are doing. You will have medical examinations, such as blood tests and scans of various kinds. These tests will assess your tumor size and check for improvements in your work with the blood.