By Suzana 
Imagine your immune system as a powerful army, but sometimes it needs a little nudge to recognize and fight cancer cells. Checkpoint inhibitors act like a wake-up call for these immune soldiers. They block specific proteins on cancer cells that help them hide, allowing the immune system to better identify and attack the invaders.
CAR T-Cell Therapy: A Personalized Fighting Force
In CAR T-cell therapy, doctors create a personalized army to combat cancer. T cells, immune warriors, are collected from a patient’s blood, genetically engineered to recognize and attack specific cancer cells, and then returned to the body. These supercharged T cells can hunt down and destroy cancer cells with precision.
Monoclonal Antibodies: Smart Missiles
Monoclonal antibodies are like smart missiles that target cancer cells. These lab-made proteins are designed to bind to specific targets on cancer cells. Once attached, they can trigger the immune system to attack the cancer cells or directly kill them. Some even carry radioactive substances or toxins to enhance their destructive power.
Cancer Vaccines: Teaching the Body to Fight Back
Unlike traditional vaccines that prevent disease, cancer vaccines aim to teach the immune system to recognize and fight existing cancer cells. They introduce weakened or killed cancer cells, or parts of cancer cells, into the body. This training helps the immune system develop the tools to attack cancer cells effectively.
Immune System Modulators: Boosting the Body’s Defenses
Immune system modulators are like energizing drinks for the immune system. They boost the overall activity of the immune system by increasing the production of natural fighters like interferons and interleukins. This heightened immune response can help the body better combat cancer.
Oncolytic Viruses: Turning Enemies into Allies
Oncolytic viruses are a unique approach that repurposes viruses as cancer fighters. These viruses are engineered to infect and kill cancer cells while stimulating the immune system to join the battle. It’s like turning the enemy’s weapon against them.
Bispecific Antibodies: Double the Targeting Power
Bispecific antibodies are a newer type of immunotherapy that combine the precision of monoclonal antibodies with the ability to bring immune cells together. These antibodies bind to both a cancer cell and an immune cell, essentially introducing them to each other and triggering an immune attack on the cancer.
Adoptive Cell Transfer: Expanding the Immune Arsenal
Adoptive cell transfer is a broader category that includes CAR T-cell therapy and other approaches. It involves removing immune cells from a patient, modifying them in the lab to enhance their cancer-fighting abilities, and then reinfusing them into the patient. This technique offers the potential to harness the power of different immune cell types to combat cancer
Cytokine Therapy: Unleashing the Body’s Own Arsenal
Cytokine therapy involves administering lab-made versions of immune signaling molecules called cytokines. These molecules help regulate immune responses and can stimulate the body’s natural defenses against cancer. While still under investigation, cytokine therapy shows promise in certain types of cancer.
Dendritic Cell Vaccines: Training the Body’s Teachers
Dendritic cells are immune cells that act as messengers, presenting information about foreign invaders to other immune cells. Dendritic cell vaccines involve collecting a patient’s dendritic cells, loading them with cancer-specific information, and reintroducing them to the body. This approach aims to train the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells more effectively.