Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that helps your own immune system recognize and fight
cancer cells more effectively.

How it works:
• Normally, your immune system can detect and destroy abnormal cells.

• But cancer cells can hide or block the immune response.
• Immunotherapy boosts or reactivates the immune system to recognize and destroy
cancer.

Types of Immunotherapy:
1. Checkpoint Inhibitors
• These drugs block the “off switches” that cancer cells use to hide from immune cells.
• Common drugs: Pembrolizumab (Keytruda), Nivolumab (Opdivo)
2. CAR T-Cell Therapy
• A patient’s T-cells (a type of immune cell) are removed, modified in a lab to better fight
cancer, then infused back into the body.
• Used for some blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma.
3. Monoclonal Antibodies
• Lab-made proteins that bind to cancer cells and help the immune system destroy them.
4. Cancer Vaccines
• Stimulate the immune system to attack cancer cells (preventive or therapeutic).
5. Cytokines
• Proteins like interleukins and interferons that boost immune cell activity.

Advantages:
• Can be more precise than chemo.
• Fewer side effects for some patients.

• Long-lasting effects in some cancers (immune memory).

Challenges:
• Doesn’t work for all cancers or all patients.
• Can cause immune-related side effects (autoimmune-like reactions).

Used in Cancers Like:
• Melanoma
• Lung cancer (NSCLC)
• Kidney cancer
• Bladder cancer
• Hodgkin lymphoma
• Some types of breast and colon cancer