Biotherapy: Newest Wave of Cancer Treatment - Biotherapy

Biotherapy: Newest Wave of Cancer Treatment
January 04, 2008 by Tammy G
Associated Content

Biotherapy is the newest wave of cancer treatment. It uses drugs aimed at the patient's immune system to help fight cancer throughout the body. Biotherapy is also called biological therapy or immunotherapy and the drugs used are called biological response modifiers.

In contrast to chemotherapy which is directed at the cancer cell, immunotherapy focuses on stimulating the patient's own immune system to fight cancer. Immunotherapy can reach mostcells in the body and is used to treat cancer that has metastasized, or it can be placed in one area of the body to localize the treatment.

Interferons, interleukins, monoclonal antibodies, gene therapy and tumor vaccines are all different types of immunotherapy treatments and while some are still undergoing clinical trials, all are very promising, especially in the hopes of finding a cure for different types of cancer in the future.

Interferons are proteins that boost the immune system to help fight cancer. Interferon stops them from dividing and stops the cells from developing new blood vessels, therefore stopping their growth.

Interleukins are proteins that help coordinate the cells of the immune system to in turn help them distinguish and fight cancer cells.

Monoclonal antibodies target foreign proteins on the cancer cell and are effective in women with breast cancer who have certain cell characteristics.

Gene therapy is a promising therapy that can correct gene mutations in cancer and other non-cancerous conditions. It has had much negative publicity over the years as stem cells were gathered from unborn fetuses or in a more positive light - banked cord blood. Clinical trials are still underway but now that scientists have learned how to make these precious stem cells in the lab, this treatment's future looks brighter than ever.

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