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Immunotherapy
Though the body's capacity to protect against and combat cancer is not fully understood, evidence suggests that the immune system is involved in slowing the rate of tumor growth. The response of the immune system may be a key factor in determining whether patients undergoing cancer treatments have a positive outcome (1). Immunotherapy involves the attempt to recruit the body's immune system in the fight against disease. These therapies are sometimes termed biological response modifiers or biological therapies (2).
Immunotherapy is increasingly being utilized in the treatment of cancer. Interferon, for example, is becoming a common supplement to radiation therapy and chemotherapy in some cancer treatment regimens (2). Immunotherapies can be broken down into two main categories: active and passive. While active immunotherapies stimulate the body's immune system to fight the disease, passive immunotherapies involve isolating elements of the immune system that attack disease (such as antibodies) in a lab and introducing them to the patient (3).
Some treatments have properties of both passive and active immunotherapy. The use of monoclonal antibodies, for example, may be able to directly attack cancer, as well as assist the immune system in identifying cells to attack. Monoclonial antibodies are currently the only type of immunotherapy approved for lung cancer thus far (4).
Though immunotherapy treatments have been researched for many years, it is only recently that therapies are becoming commonplace in the treatment of cancer. Many clinical trials of new forms of immunotherapy are in progress, but much research remains to be done before this form of therapy can be widely applied (1).
- Park, J., M.D. (2001) "Immunotherapy Cancer Treatment." Supportive Cancer Care. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.
- "Interferons." From eNotes.com. Available: http://health.enotes.com/cancer-encyclopedia/interferons (Accessed August 2, 2007).
- "Types of Immunotherapy." From the American Cancer Society website. Available: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_4X_Types_of_Immunotherapy.asp?sitearea=ETO (Accessed August 2, 2007).
- "What are monoclonal antibodies?" From CancerBackUp.com. Available: http://www.cancerbackup.org.uk/QAs/TreatmentsQAs/MonoclonalantibodiesQAs/related_faqs/QAs/521 (Accessed August 2, 2007).
- "Immunotherapy for Specific Cancers." From the American Cancer Society website. Available: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_4X_Immunotherapy_for_Specific_Cancers.asp?sitearea=ETO (Accessed August 2, 2007).