What Is Immunotherapy Cancer Treatment and How Does it Work?

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses the patient's immune system to treat their cancer. By producing proteins, cancer can sometimes avoid detection by the immune system. Because the immune system can't detect the cancer, it can't fight it, so that how the immunotherapy treatment helps. It can help boost or restore the immune system, so that it is better able to detect and destroy the cancer. In this video, oncologist Dr. Stephen Lemon explains how immunotherapy works, as well as what types of side effects patients may experience.
Stephen Lemon MD is a medical oncologist, who practices at the Overlake Hospital Cancer Treatment Center in Bellevue, WA.
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What is immunotherapy? And how does it work? (video transcript)
As a cancer treatment, immunotherapy uses the patient’s immune system to treat cancer.
So here is how it works. Our immune system consists of blood cells, the lymph system and certain organs like the liver and spleen that keep us healthy by fighting off infections.
Normally we would fight cancer with our immune system, which makes antibodies like it does for a virus or bacterial infection.
But sometimes cancer conceals itself from our immune system by producing proteins that hide it. And because our immune system can’t find the cancer, it can’t adequately fight it.
And that’s where immunotherapy treatment comes in.
Using materials created by our bodies, or within a laboratory, the immunotherapy treatment helps boost or restore our immune system’s function, so that it can better detect and destroy the cancer.
What types of cancers can immunotherapy treat?
Immunotherapy can be used to be treat many types of cancers. Such as
Non small cell lung cancer
Kidney
Melanoma skin cancer
Bladder
Head and neck cancers
Hodgkins lymphoma
Stomach cancer
And other cancer types as well.
What are some existing FDA approved immunotherapy treatment drugs?
There are currently a number of different immunotherapy treatments such as Keytruda, Tecentriq & Opdivo and others.
Sometimes these treatments are used alone or with chemotherapy.
So, How is immunotherapy given? And for how long?
Most immunotherapy treatments are given intravenously on 2 or 3 week cycles.
Immunotherapy is generally given for as long as there is clinical benefit and there are no serious side effects.
So what are the side effects from immunotherapy?
Just like any cancer treatment, immunotherapy treatment may cause some common, as well as less common, side effects.
Some common side effects of of the treatment are:
feeling tired
pain in muscles, bones, and joints
decreased appetite
nausea
cough
constipation
shortness of breath
diarrhea
rash
Less common side effects from immunotherapy are:
Inflammation of the lung, intestine, kidney, liver, and other organ systems
Allergic reaction
Immunotherapy should also not be taken by women if they are pregnant.
As a cancer treatment, immunotherapy offers a lot of promise.
And recent research, and ongoing studies, are continuing to provide us with more breakthrough immunotherapy treatment options.
Between traditional chemotherapy, targeted therapy and now groundbreaking immunotherapy, we are heading towards a cure for cancer.