Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy (Biologic therapy or Biotherapy)
Body's defense against invasion by bacteria, viruses and other foreign substances is know as the immune system. Immune system prevents germs from entering in the body, or kills them if they have got in. There are good reasons to believe the immune system can help fight cancer. People with weakened immune systems have been found more likely to develop cancer. To overcome this, researchers have designed ways to help the immune system recognize cancer cells and to strengthen the response so that it will destroy the cancer.
Immunotherapy is treatment that uses certain parts of the immune system to fight disease, including cancer. Generally, this is done in a couple of ways:
- stimulating the patient's immune system to work more
- Immune system components, such as man-made immune system proteins, are given to the patient
As mesothelioma cells are believed to be susceptible to immune mechanisms, some
experts think it can be successfully treated through immunological means. By
combining surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy with immunotherapy,
better results can be achieved.
Types of Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy can be broadly classified into 3 types:- Active immunotherapy
- Passive immunotherapy
- Non-specific immunotherapy and adjuvants
In active immunotherapy, the body's own defense (immune system) is stimulated to fight disease. For the most part, it is still experimental. Cancer vaccines are examples of active immunotherapy. There are two types of vaccines; therapeutic, which is injected after diagnosis and preventative, which is given to healthy individuals in order to prevent the disease. Tumor Cell Vaccines, Antigen Vaccines, Dendritic Cell Vaccines, DNA Vaccines and Vector-based Vaccines are some vaccines currently being studied.
Passive Immunotherapy
Passive immunotherapy uses immune system components created outside the body. In this method, cancer cells from the patient are taken and then super cells producing huge amounts of antibodies are created. These super cells are re-introduced to the body of the patient. Monoclonal antibody therapy, the most widely used form of immunotherapy for cancer available today, is a passive immunotherapy.
Nonspecific Immunotherapy and Adjuvants
Nonspecific immunotherapy is generally given alone, while others are used as adjuvants (that is, they are given in combination with another treatment in order to improve immune system function and boost the potential of the primary treatment). Cytokines, Interleukins and Interferons are some types of nonspecific immunotherapy and adjuvants.