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Cancer Immunotherapy is proving to be a breakthrough development of the last 2 decades, that has begun a new era in the field of cancer treatment. It has dramatically improved survival rates in solid organ cancers, especially in advanced stages. Many types of immunotherapy drugs with variable efficacy have become available over last 5 years using which we cancer specialists are able to extend durable survival to a good number of cancer patients if not all. Human immune system remains a complex phenomenon for researchers to understand it fully as yet and achieve a larger goal of curing cancer completely. Amongst various types of immunotherapy drugs like cancer vaccines, immunomodulatory drugs etc, immune checkpoint inhibitors have become the populistic gainer amongst cancer treating physicians.

What is Immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy is a new class of cancer treatment that boosts immune system of the cancer patients to work harder and smarter to help body find and destroy cancer cells. These are the substances made in a laboratory that mimic immune system components of the body and they work by restoring and improving how immune system works against cancer. Immunotherapy can be used alone or in combination with chemotherapy and other cancer treatments.

How does our immune system work?

Human immune system is a set of organs and special cells that collectively help protect human body from infections, foreign pathogens and other diseases. Immune system also helps prevent formation of cancer cells and also destroys abnormal cells in the body as a natural process.

Immune system raises an alarm to substances that are foreign or those which immune system does not recognize and forms an attack on it. For example, unique proteins of the foreign germs / pathogens are considered foreign by the immune system and hence it attacks those proteins.

Cancer and The Immunity Escape-

Since cancer cells originate from the normal cells of the body, immune system does not always recognize them as a foreign / unwanted substance hence cancer cells can escape immune attack sometimes. These are limitations of the immune system because of which cancer develops in healthy individuals with healthy immune system.

There could be 3 possibilities why cancer cells escape immune system of the body:

- Cancer cells may not be different enough from normal body cells for the immune system to identify and attack.

- Immune response to cancer cells if triggered may not be strong or efficient enough to destroy cancer cells.

- Cancer cells can release substances that can prevent immune system from forming attack on cancer cells.

This forms the basis of Immunotherapy for cancer treatment. Researchers have found ways to overcome these challenges. Immunotherapy helps body efficiently identify cancer cells as a first response and eventually form an attack strong enough to destroy cancer cells.

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

These are antibody drugs that activates body's natural immune system to identify and kill cancer cells. These are latest developments in the field of Cancer Immunotherapy and the treatment has produced promising results in cancer patients. There are other treatments like CAR-T cell treatment which has not been used in India widely as yet. Immunotherapy will be the future in cancer care and researchers are working tirelessly to bring promising results using these treatments.

Dr. Ritu Dave

DNB, Medical Oncologist

Mumbai Oncocare, Pune

9769771595 / 9769773595

drritudave@mocindia.co.in