Cancer treatment using immunotherapy – What you need to know about cancer immunotherapy: the effectiveness of the, the risks and cost of cancer treatment

Many promising cancer treatments have gone the distance to the stage of clinical trials. But Immunotherapy has all chances to avoid such a fate: its relevance to medicine has already been compared to the discovery of antibiotics and chemotherapy. Tell, what you need to know about the most promising direction in Oncology.

What is cancer immunotherapy

Most cancer cells have on the surface of tumor antigens are proteins or carbohydrates, that can be detected and destroyed by the vigilant immune system. Immunotherapy activates immunity, turning it into a formidable weapon against many types of cancer.

The greatest interest of scientists, doctors and investors attract two types of immunotherapy:

• checkpoint immune response inhibitors, which remove immunity with brakes, allowing him to see and destroy cancer;
• CAR t-cell therapy, committing more focused attack on cancer cells.

Checkpoint inhibitors block the immune response ability of some proteins numb or weaken immune system response to tumor antigens. In normal times such proteins inhibit the immune system from overly aggressive behavior, not letting it harm the body. But cancer can intercept them, using to suppress immune reactions (the tumor becomes "invisible" for immunity).

For the treatment of malignant tumors (including melanoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, lung cancer, kidney cancer and bladder cancer) already approved by the 4 product, activating the immune system: ipilimumab (Ipilimumab, MDX-010, MDX-101), pembrolizumab (Kejtruda), nivolumab (Opdivo) and atezolizumab (Tecentrik).

CAR t-cell therapy for treating cancer uses t-cells-a key part of the immune system. They are extracted from the patient's blood, genetically modify in the laboratory, "aiming" for a particular type of cancer, and injected back into the body. This procedure, only available in clinical trials, It is currently used to treat leukemia and Lymphoma. Food and Drug Administration United States, probably, to approve t-cell therapy 2017 or 2018 year. When this technology reach the clinics is a rhetorical question.

Actual problems of immunotherapy

Checkpoint immune response inhibitors cause reduction of tumors and tumor stabilization in average 20% patients. Researchers do not yet understand, why some cancers do not respond to treatment. For Example, Immunotherapy is effective for patients with melanoma, but useless for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

It is believed, the key to improving the effectiveness of immunotherapy is its combination with other treatments. Scientists want to combine the checkpoint with inhibitors of t-cell therapy, radiation and chemotherapy. But this combination may increase your risk of side effects, dealing a devastating blow to the body's healthy cells.
The main disadvantages of cancer immunotherapy

«Swinging» immune system, Immunotherapy can cause serious damage to healthy tissues and organs. Researchers are working on ways to reduce its potential toxicity, but there is still a lot of work.

Today it is known two types of risks, related to immunoterapiej:

• Almost all patients after treatment, there are flu-like symptoms, including high temperature, headache and muscle pain; some end up in the NICU.
• Medication can cause brain swelling and death.

Standard cancer treatments also have dangerous side effects. For Example, chemotherapy and radiotherapy for the treatment of leukemia in children can cause secondary cancers, infertility and heart damage, but to save the lives of doctors often have to risk.

Another drawback of immunotherapy is its high cost:

• a year's supply of Kejtrudy will cost a patient in 150 thousands of dollars a year;
• the cost of the 40 ml ipilirumaba exceeds 29 thousands of dollars;
• more 2500 dollars to spend on 100 mg nivolumaba.

While such sky-high figures do not inspire optimism for patients, but immunotherapy is a young direction in Oncology, and as more new drugs will appear on the global pharmaceutical market, the lower fall rates.