Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that helps your immune system fight cancer. The immune system helps your assets fight infections and other diseases. It is made up of white blood cells and organs and tissues of the lymph system.
Immunotherapy is a type of biological therapy. Biological therapy is a type of treatment that uses substances made from living organisms to treat cancer.
What is Immunotherapy?
Types of Immunotherapy
Many different types of immunotherapy are used to treat cancer. They include:
- Monoclonal antibodies, which are drugs that are designed to tie to specific targets in the bod. They can cause an immune response that demolishes cancer cells.
Other types of monoclonal antibodies can «mark» cancer cells so it is lighter for the immune system to find and demolish them. These types of monoclonal antibodies may also be referred to as targeted therapy. See Targeted Therapy for more information.
You may have treatments to reduce your immune cells. After these treatments, the T cells that were grown in the lab will be given back to you via a needle in your vein. The process of growing your T cells in the lab can take two to eight weeks, depending on how rapid they grow.
For more information about a specific type of adoptive cell transfer called CAR T-cell therapy, see CAR T-Cell Therapy: Engineering Patients’ Immune Cells to Treat Their Cancers.
- Cytokines, which are proteins that are made by your assets`s cells. They play significant roles in the figure`s normal immune responses and also in the immune system`s capability to react to cancer. The two main types of cytokines used to treat cancer are called interferons and interleukins.
- Treatment Vaccines, which work against cancer by boosting your immune system`s response to cancer cells. Treatment vaccines are different from the ones that help prevent disease.
- BCG, which stands for Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, is an immunotherapy that is used to treat bladder cancer. It is a weakened form of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis. When inserted directly into the bladder with a catheter, BCG causes an immune response against cancer cells. It is also being studied in other types of cancer.
Who Receives Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is not yet as widely used as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. However, immunotherapies have been approved to treat people with many types of cancer. To learn about immunotherapies that may be used to treat your cancer, see the PDQ® adult cancer treatment summaries and childhood cancer treatment summaries.
Many other immunotherapies are being studied in clinical trials, which are research studies involving people. To find a probe that may be an option for you, visit Find a Clinical Trial.
How Immunotherapy Works against Cancer
One reason that cancer cells thrive is because they are able to hide from your immune system. Certain immunotherapies can mark cancer cells so it is lighter for the immune system to find and demolish them. Other immunotherapies boost your immune system to work better against cancer.
Immunotherapy Can Cause Side Effects
Immunotherapy can cause side effects, which affect people in different ways. The side effects you may have and how they make you feel will depend on how healthy you are before treatment, your type of cancer, how advanced it is, the type of therapy you are getting, and the dose. Doctors and nurses cannot know for certain how you will feel during treatment.
The most common side effects are skin reactions at the needle site. These side effects include:
You may have flu-like symptoms, which include:
Other side effects might include:
- Full salute and weight build up from retaining fluid
- Heart palpitations
- Sinus congestion
- Diarrhea
- Risk of infection
Immunotherapies may also cause severe or even fatal allergic reactions. However, these reactions are uncommon.
How Immunotherapy Is Given
Different forms of immunotherapy may be given in different ways. These include:
The immunotherapy goes directly into a vein.
The immunotherapy comes in pills or capsules that you gulp.
The immunotherapy comes in a juices that you caress onto your skin. This type of immunotherapy can be used for very early skin cancer.
The immunotherapy goes directly into the bladder.
Where You Go for Your Immunotherapy Treatment
You may receive immunotherapy in a doctor`s office, clinic, or outpatient unit in a hospital. Outpatient means you do not spend the night in the hospital.
How Often You Will Receive Immunotherapy Treatment
How often and how long you receive immunotherapy depends on:
- Your type of cancer and how advanced it is
- The type of immunotherapy you get
- How your bod reacts to treatment
You may have treatment every day, week, or month. Some immunotherapies are given in cycles. A cycle is a period of treatment followed by a period of rest. The rest period gives your figure a chance to recover, react to the immunotherapy, and build fresh healthy cells.
How to Tell Whether Immunotherapy Is Working
You will see your doctor often. He or she will give you physical exams and ask you how you feel. You will have medical tests, such as blood tests and different types of scans. These tests will measure the size of your tumor and look for switches in your blood work.