Immunotherapy
Any treatment that works by getting the patient's own immune system to attack the cancer, rather than attacking the cancer directly. It can produce responses that last for years, but only in some patients.
The main forms are checkpoint inhibitors (antibodies that release the brakes on T cells), cell therapies (CAR-T, TCR-T and TIL, in which a patient's T cells are removed, engineered or expanded, and returned), bispecific T-cell engagers, cancer vaccines including personalised mRNA vaccines, cytokines, and oncolytic viruses. Because the immune system has memory, responses can persist long after treatment stops, which is why the survival curves for melanoma and lung cancer now show a plateau of long-term survivors; the flip side is autoimmune side effects and the fact that many tumours remain 'cold' and unresponsive. Predicting who will respond, and turning cold tumours hot, are two of the field's central problems.
Pages like this
not linked directly; found by shared links- InstitutionSociety for Immunotherapy of Cancer
Shares Oncolytic viruses, TIL therapy, Immune-related adverse events (irAEs), Hot vs cold tumours.
- TermHallmark: avoiding immune destruction
Shares Immune system, Immune checkpoint, Hot vs cold tumours, Personalised neoantigen (mRNA) vaccines.
- TermAntigen
Shares Immune system, T cell, Neoantigen, T-cell engagers (bispecific).
- PathwayThe cancer-immunity cycle
Shares Oncolytic viruses, Neoantigen, Hot vs cold tumours, Personalised neoantigen (mRNA) vaccines.
- RoadmapImmunotherapy roadmap: Coley's toxins → checkpoint inhibitors → engineered immunity
Shares Oncolytic viruses, TIL therapy, Hot vs cold tumours, Personalised neoantigen (mRNA) vaccines.
- TermCytokine
Shares Immune system, T cell, T-cell engagers (bispecific), CAR-T cell therapy.
- PersonKellie N. Smith
Shares Neoantigen, Personalised neoantigen (mRNA) vaccines, Immune checkpoint inhibitors.
- TermB cell
Shares Immune system, T cell, T-cell engagers (bispecific), CAR-T cell therapy.