WHAT IS IMMUNOTHERAPY?

Immunotherapy is a widespread form of cancer therapy that utilises the patient’s own immune system to defend the body by destroying cancerous cells. Immunotherapy is administered to treat various forms of cancer in different parts of the body. 

For example, immunotherapy can be used to treat the following forms of cancer:

  • Breast cancer
  • Kidney cancer
  • Melanoma
  • Cervical cancer
  • Colorectal cancer
  • Lung cancer
  • Liver cancer
  • Lymphoma
  • Head and neck cancer

Chemotherapy

Immunotherapy

Clinical trials

A multidisciplinary approach

HOW DOES IMMUNOTHERAPY WORK?

Immunotherapy works by enhancing the strength of the immune system or altering the immune system so it can fight against cancerous cells present in the body.

There are different forms of immunotherapy administered to treat cancer, such as the following:

  • Checkpoint inhibitors are drugs used to help the immune system identify and target cancerous cells in the body.
  • T-cell therapy (Chimeric antigen receptor) is a curative treatment that removes and mixes T-cells with a particular virus, which enables T-cells to connect to tumour cells to destroy the cancerous cells.
  • Cytokines are tiny proteins that convey messages between cells to help the immune system combat cancerous cells in the body.
  • Immunomodulators consist of a collection of therapeutic medicines to resolve different forms of cancer.
  • Vaccinations for cancer involve introducing substances into the body to initiate an immune response for the immune system to fight against a particular illness.
  • Monoclonal antibodies are manufactured creations of immune system proteins. mAbs are effective in treating cancer because these artificially made proteins are created to destroy a portion of the cancer
  • Oncolytic viruses are a type of treatment that entails using a virus specially made in a laboratory to target and destroy the tumour.

HOW DO YOU ADMINISTER IMMUNOTHERAPY?

Immunotherapy can be administered in several ways, such as the following:/p>

  • Intravenous administration, which involves delivering immunotherapy medication through the patient’s vein.
  • Subcutaneous administration entails applying immunotherapy drugs via an injection beneath the skin.
  • Intramuscular administration involves administering immunotherapy medication via an injection through the muscle.

However, other forms of immunotherapy may be directly administered to the specific body cavity where the tumour is located.

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 
How can the immune system help fight cancer?
The immune system monitors all substances present in the body. As a result, the immune system is made aware of any foreign particles entering the body, such as foreign proteins found in germs and cancer.
Do immunotherapy drugs come in pill/capsule form?
Yes, immunotherapy pills may be ingested orally. In addition, immunotherapy may also be applied topically.
How many times in a week should I receive immunotherapy?
This frequency of treatments varies from patient to patient. However, immunotherapy can be administered in most cases every second, third, fourth or sixth week.

IT IS SAID

that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperilled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperilled in every single battle.

Sun Tzu, The Art of War