What is Immunotherapy?
Your immune system is designed to fight infections and abnormal cells. But cancer cells often evade detection by tricking the immune system. Immunotherapy works by reactivating the body’s immune response to recognize and attack cancer cells.
How Does Immunotherapy Work?
There are several types of immunotherapy:
- Checkpoint Inhibitors: Drugs like pembrolizumab and nivolumab block proteins (like PD-1 or CTLA-4) that prevent immune cells from attacking cancer.
- CAR-T Cell Therapy: A highly personalized approach where a patient’s T cells are engineered in a lab to recognize and kill cancer cells.
- Cancer Vaccines: Unlike traditional vaccines, these boost the immune response against specific cancer markers.
- Cytokine Therapy: Uses immune-boosting proteins (like interleukins) to strengthen the body’s cancer-fighting ability.
Which Cancers Benefit?
- Melanoma (Skin Cancer): Checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized treatment.
- Lung Cancer: PD-1 inhibitors are now standard in advanced cases.
- Blood Cancers (Lymphomas, Leukemia): CAR-T therapy offers hope for treatment-resistant cases.
- Bladder Cancer & Kidney Cancer: Immunotherapy has significantly improved survival rates.
Common Side Effects:
Since immunotherapy supercharges the immune system, it can sometimes attack normal organs, leading to:
- Inflammation in lungs (pneumonitis)
- Skin rashes
- Thyroid problems
- Fatigue
Immunotherapy has been a game-changer, especially for cancers that were previously difficult to treat.
💡 Fact: Some patients on immunotherapy experience a “tumor flare” called pseudoprogression, where tumors appear to grow before shrinking due to immune cell infiltration.