Immunotherapy: What is it?
For many years, physicians believed that the immune system was effective only in combating infectious diseases caused by such invading agents as bacteria and viruses. More recently, we have learned that the immune system may play a central role in protecting the body against cancer and in combating cancer that has already developed. This latter role is not well understood, but there is evidence that in many cancer patients the immune system slows down the growth and spread of tumors. The body's ability to develop an immune reaction to tumors may help determine which patients are cured of cancer using conventional therapies, including surgery, radiation and drugs.
One immediate goal of research in cancer immunology is the development of methods to harness and enhance the body's natural tendency to defend itself against malignant tumors. Immunotherapy represents a new and powerful weapon in the arsenal of anticancer treatments.
Immunotherapy seems to offer great promise as a new dimension in cancer treatment, but it is still very much in its infancy. Immunotherapies involving certain cytokines and antibodies have now become part of standard cancer treatment. Other examples of immunotherapy remain experimental. Although many clinical trials of new forms of immunotherapy are in progress, an enormous amount of research remains to be done before the findings can be widely applied.
(courtesy of www.cancersupportivecare.com)
Low-dose Cyclophosphamide Synergizes with Dendritic Cell-Based Immunotherapy in Antitumor Activity (5/2010)
Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology
Mesothelioma tumor-bearing mice were treated with dendritic cell-based immunotherapy alone or in combination with low-dose of cyclophosphamide. The addition of cyclophosphamide improved immunotherapy leading to an increased median and overall survival. Future studies are needed to address the usefulness of this combination treatment for mesothelioma patients. More...
Consolidative Dendritic Cell-Based Immunotherapy Elicits Cytotoxicity Against Malignant Mesothelioma. (3/3/2010)
Clinical trial administering antigen-pulsed dendritic cell vaccination in mesothelioma patients shows promising results at inducing immunological response to tumor cells. More...
What's the place of immunotherapy in malignant mesothelioma treatments? (3/3/2010)
Mesothelioma immunotherapy is undoubtedly a highly promising but also very challenging approach to the treatment of this disease that has slipped through the defense lines of the immune system. This article reviews past and recent developments of the clinical strategies that concern immunotherapy of mesothelioma. More...
Study of SS1(dsFv)-PE38 Immunotoxin in Patients With Advanced Malignancies That Express Mesothelin (Last Updated July 30, 2009)
Mesothelin, a cell surface glycoprotein, is an attractive candidate for targeted therapy given its overexpression, as detected by immunohistochemistry, in mesotheliomas. More...
Chemoimmunotherapy: An Emerging Strategy for the Treatment of Malignant Mesothelioma (5/22/2009)
Study on whether the immune system can recognize malignant and pre-malignant cells and eliminate them to prevent the development of cancer is still a matter of open debate. More...
Targeted Immune Cells Shrink Tumors in Mice. (2/9/2009)
Researchers have generated altered immune cells that are able to shrink, and in some cases eradicate, large tumors in mice. More...
Systemic blockade of transforming growth factor-beta signaling augments the efficacy of immunogene therapy. (12/15/2008)
Locally produced transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) promotes tumor-induced immunosuppression and contributes to resistance to immunotherapy. More...
Immunotherapy and Malignant Mesothelioma: Clinical Perspectives (2/27/07)
The French Cancer Bulletin Journal recently published results affirming immunotherapy techniques for mesothelioma patients. Marc Gregoire and Frederic Ebstein comment that standard treatments for mesothelioma, including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, have limited efficacy. More...
Biological Response Modifiers modify the relationship between the tumor and the patient by strengthening the patient's biological response to tumor cells. (7/4/04)
Biological response modifiers (BRMs) are another form of chemotherapy sometimes administered to cancer patients. They modify the relationship between the tumor and the patient by strengthening the patient's biological response to tumor cells. More...
New Drug Shows Promise in Killing mesothelioma tumors and Boosting Immune System, Australia (6/29/04)
Research studies have found that in the future, the deadly asbestos-related cancer, Mesothelioma, may be treated with an Australian drug that not only destroys existing tumours but has the ability to boost immunity against the disease - the drug, SBP002. More...
Primer on Immunotherapy: The New Frontier.
Radiation, Chemotherapy and Surgery are considered to be the three frontline weapons in a conventional war against cancer. A fourth weapon, largely considered experimental, is "immunotherapy." Immunotherapy seeks to use the body's immune system to fight against cancer. In the abstract, the theory sounds elegant, useful and realistic. More...