Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that either empowers your immune system or stimulates it to fight against cancer. This treatment uses the body’s natural defenses to identify, attack, and kill cancerous cells. It is a subset of biological therapy that uses substances made from living organisms to treat cancer.
Your body’s immune system, made up of white blood cells, organs, and tissues of the lymph system, is inherently coded to specifically attack foreign bodies and cancerous cells; basically, anything that does not naturally belong in your system. Other therapies target & destroy all cells indiscriminately, whether healthy or cancerous. This makes immunotherapy superior and more natural as compared to other forms of treatment. Onco-Life Cancer Centre, Satara, and one of the best cancer hospital in Pune region tries to shed some light on Immunotherapy.
Types of Immunotherapy
These treatments can either help the immune system attack cancer directly or stimulate the immune system in an overall manner. Based on these two roles, immunotherapy can be of the following types:
- One that helps the immune system act directly against cancer
- Checkpoint inhibitors: These drugs drive the immune system to respond more strongly to a tumor by not actually attacking them. They keep the T cells (a kind of WBC) from destroying the cancerous cells while restraining the capacity of cancerous cells to attack the immune system.
- Adoptive cell transfer: This treatment uses T cells to fight cancer. These T cells are usually taken from the patient’s blood or tumor tissue. They are then grown in large numbers in a lab and given back to the patient to help the immune system fight cancer.
- Monoclonal antibodies: Monoclonal antibodies, also known as therapeutic antibodies, are laboratory-produced molecules programmed to serve as substitute antibodies that can restore, enhance or mimic the immune system’s attack on cancer cells. Monoclonal antibodies perform various roles such as:
- Flag the cancer cells and make them easily detectable by coating them
- Trigger an immune system response to attack the outer wall of a cancer cell
- Block the connection between a cancer cell and proteins that promote cell growth
- Prevent Blood vessel growth, which in turn inhibits tumor growth
- Treatment vaccines: They boost your immune system’s response to cancer cells. Treatment vaccines are different from the ones that help prevent disease. can be expensive. Onco-life cancer centre in Satara near Pune gives state-of-the-art facilities and services of expert doctors in a serene environment, that can be the closest alternative if you are looking for Cancer treatment in Pune.
- One that enhances the body’s immune response to fight cancer
- Cytokines: These are proteins made by your cells. They play important roles in the body’s normal immune responses and also in the immune system’s ability to respond to cancer.
- BCG: Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, is mostly used to treat bladder cancer. It is a weakened form of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis which is inserted directly into the bladder with a catheter. These bacteria cause an immune response against cancer cells.
What types of cancer can be treated by Immunotherapy?
There are four main types of cancer that can be treated with immunotherapy namely leukemia & lymphoma, lung cancer, melanoma, and prostate cancer. There are other types of cancer too that can be treated with immunotherapy, but you will have to consult with a cancer specialist in Pune to find out.
Who is eligible for Immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy is eligible for people with advanced-stage cancers, or for those whose cancers have returned and metastasized after initial treatment. However, some people may not be able to receive immunotherapy due to prevailing health problems. You can consult with the doctors from Onco-Life Cancer Centre, who are among the best oncologist in Pune, and ascertain your eligibility for the treatment. Contact Onco-Life Cancer centre today to know your options.