Immunotherapy

If you have recently received an oncological diagnosis and your doctor has recommended immunotherapy treatment, you are probably wondering “What exactly is immunotherapy and how can it help me in my healing process?”.

What is immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy is a revolutionary type of cancer treatment that aims to support the patient’s own immune system in fighting cancer cells. Unlike chemotherapy, which directly attacks cancer cells with drugs, immunotherapy trains the patient’s immune system to attack and fight cancer cells.

The link between our immune system and cancer

To understand immunotherapy and its benefits, we must first understand how our immune system works.

Our immune system, in some situations, can identify and destroy in time the cells that can lead to diseases, including cancer. However, it can develop even if the immune system recognizes the tumor cells, because these cells can develop different mechanisms to escape the immune attack. At the same time, the body activates certain “barriers” to stop the hyperactivity of the immune system. The role of immunotherapy is to raise these “barriers”, namely to train the body to recognize and destroy cancer cells.

Types of immunotherapy

Checkpoint inhibitors: Checkpoint inhibitors are antibodies that work by helping the immune system attack cancer cells.
T cell therapy: This type of treatment makes gene changes in white blood cells (T cells) to help them recognize and destroy cancer cells. This treatment is usually used to treat certain forms of leukemia.
Monoclonal antibodies mAb: These antibodies recognize cancer cells and help kill them by triggering the immune system or helping it attack the cancer.
Cancer vaccines: These vaccines stimulate the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells, just as it would a virus.

What to expect during immunotherapy

As for the adverse effects, they are specific to immunotherapy and differ from those given by classical cytostatics. Nausea, vomiting, alopecia (hair loss), alteration of the general condition – are less common in the case of immunotherapy, they are specific to chemotherapy with cytostatics. The adverse effects given by immunotherapy are of an autoimmune type – the most frequently affected organs are the thyroid (hypothyroidism), the digestive tract (diarrhea), the skin (rash and itching), the liver (autoimmune hepatitis), but any other organ can be affected. In most situations, immunotherapy is well tolerated, and adverse effects can be treated with specific medication.

Is immunotherapy right for you?

Your oncologist will consider various factors, including the type and stage of the disease, as well as your general health and the location of the tumor. Our medical team is always at your side to answer all your questions about immunotherapy. This way, you can make sure that the decision is a fully informed one.

Immunotherapy is a promising treatment in the fight against cancer, offering hope and personalized treatment options. If you have received an immunotherapy recommendation, discuss any concerns you have with your medical team.

We remind you that you are not alone and that your immune system can be a powerful ally in the fight against cancer.

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