Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a type of treatment that helps your immune system fight cancer. Different types of immunotherapy work in different ways.

3 Facts About Immunotherapy:

• American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) named immunotherapy the “Advance of the Year.” - It’s clear now that immunotherapy can provide long-term benefits to sizable subsets of patients with diverse types of cancer, and new clinical breakthroughs are happening all the time.
• Immunotherapy can empower your immune system against cancer - The immune system is naturally equipped to protect us against cancer. However, cancers sometimes figure out how to outsmart the immune system and protect themselves. Immunotherapy aims to reverse that situation.
• Macrophages (“big eaters” of the immune system) - can devour cancer cells: Macrophages (Greek for “big eaters”) are innate immune cells that are capable of physically ingesting damaged or diseased cells through a behaviour called phagocytosis (cell-devouring process). However, sometimes tumours are able to protect themselves by hijacking macrophages into helping cancer spread. Fortunately, immunotherapies have been developed to target macrophages and make sure they stay on the right side of the fight against cancer.