Immunotherapy is a type of treatment that utilizes the body’s immune system to fight diseases, particularly cancer. It can involve stimulating the immune system to work harder or smarter to attack cancer cells or providing components of the immune system, such as man-made immune system proteins. There are several types of immunotherapy, including monoclonal antibodies, immune checkpoint inhibitors, cancer vaccines, and adoptive cell transfer.
Key Types of Immunotherapy:
- Monoclonal Antibodies: Laboratory-made proteins that can bind to specific targets on cancer cells.
- Checkpoint Inhibitors: Drugs that block proteins used by cancer cells to evade the immune system.
- Cancer Vaccines: Vaccines designed to elicit an immune response against cancer-specific antigens.
- Adoptive Cell Transfer: Enhancing a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer, such as CAR T-cell therapy.