Immünoterapide

Immünoterapide, often translated as immunotherapy, is a broad term encompassing medical treatments that harness the patient's own immune system to fight diseases, particularly cancer. This approach leverages the body's natural defenses, which can sometimes be insufficient or suppressed by disease processes. Immunotherapy aims to either stimulate the immune system to recognize and attack diseased cells more effectively or to provide components of the immune system that have been weakened or removed.

There are several main types of immunotherapy. One common category involves checkpoint inhibitors. These drugs block proteins that act as "brakes" on the immune system, preventing it from attacking healthy cells. By releasing these brakes, checkpoint inhibitors allow immune cells, such as T-cells, to more aggressively target and destroy cancer cells. Another type is adoptive cell therapy, where a patient's immune cells are collected, genetically modified in a laboratory to enhance their cancer-fighting abilities (like CAR T-cell therapy), and then infused back into the patient. Monoclonal antibodies are also a form of immunotherapy; these lab-produced proteins are designed to bind to specific targets on cancer cells, marking them for destruction by the immune system or directly blocking their growth signals. Vaccines, both therapeutic and preventative, can also be considered a form of immunotherapy, designed to train the immune system to recognize and combat specific pathogens or cancerous cells. While immunotherapy has shown remarkable success in treating certain cancers and other immune-related disorders, it can also have side effects, as over-activating the immune system can sometimes lead to autoimmune reactions. Ongoing research continues to refine these treatments and explore new applications.