Limmunoteràpia

Limmunoteràpia, also known as immunotherapy, is a type of cancer treatment that uses a patient's own immune system to fight cancer. The immune system is the body's natural defense against disease, but cancer cells can sometimes evade detection and destruction by the immune system. Immunotherapy works by helping the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells more effectively.

There are several types of immunotherapy. One common type is checkpoint inhibitors. These drugs block proteins called checkpoints, which are like brakes on the immune system. By releasing these brakes, checkpoint inhibitors allow immune cells, such as T cells, to attack cancer more aggressively. Another type is adoptive cell transfer, which involves collecting a patient's immune cells, modifying them in a lab to make them better at fighting cancer, and then reinfusing them into the patient. CAR T-cell therapy is a prominent example of this approach. Other immunotherapies include cancer vaccines, which stimulate the immune system to recognize cancer cells, and monoclonal antibodies, which are laboratory-made proteins that can target specific proteins on cancer cells.

Immunotherapy can be used to treat a variety of cancers, including melanoma, lung cancer, kidney cancer, and certain types of leukemia and lymphoma. The effectiveness of immunotherapy can vary depending on the type of cancer, the specific immunotherapy used, and individual patient factors. Like other cancer treatments, immunotherapy can also have side effects, which can range from mild to severe. These side effects often occur because the immune system becomes overactive and starts attacking healthy tissues in addition to cancer cells. Common side effects can include fatigue, skin rash, and gastrointestinal issues. More serious side effects can involve inflammation of organs like the lungs, heart, or liver. Researchers are continually developing new immunotherapy approaches and working to improve their effectiveness and manage their side effects.