Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that helps your immune system fight cancer. The immune system helps your body fight infections and other diseases. It is made up of white blood cells and organs and tissues of the lymph system.
Immunotherapy is a type of biological therapy. Biologic therapy is a type of treatment that uses substances made from living organisms to treat cancer.
In this treatment, as part of its normal function, the immune system detects and destroys abnormal cells and most likely stops the growth of many cancers. For example, immune cells are sometimes found in and around tumors.
These cells, called lymphocytes or TILs, in the tumor are a sign that the immune system is responding to the tumor. People whose tumors contain TILs often do better than people whose tumors do not contain them.
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor are drugs that block immune checkpoints. These checkpoints are a normal part of the immune system and keep the immune response from becoming too strong. By blocking them, these drugs allow immune cells to respond more effectively to cancer.
T-cell transfer therapy is a treatment that increases the natural ability of your T cells to fight cancer. In this treatment, immune cells are taken from your tumor. The ones that are most active against your cancer are changed in the lab so they can better attack your cancer cells, grown to larger levels, and sent back into your body through a needle into your vein.