immunotherapydriven

Immunotherapydriven refers to a therapeutic approach that leverages the body's own immune system to fight disease, primarily cancer. This strategy involves stimulating or enhancing the immune response to recognize and eliminate abnormal cells. Unlike traditional treatments that directly target cancer cells with chemotherapy or radiation, immunotherapies work by modulating the immune system's ability to perform this task.

There are several types of immunotherapies. One major category includes checkpoint inhibitors, which are drugs that block proteins on immune cells that prevent them from attacking cancer cells. Another is adoptive cell therapy, where a patient's own immune cells are collected, modified in a lab to better target cancer, and then reinfused into the patient. CAR T-cell therapy is a prominent example of this. Other immunotherapies involve therapeutic vaccines designed to train the immune system to recognize cancer antigens, or oncolytic viruses that specifically infect and kill cancer cells while also triggering an immune response.

The effectiveness of immunotherapydriven treatments can vary significantly depending on the type of cancer and the individual patient. While these therapies have shown remarkable success in treating certain cancers, they can also be associated with side effects, often related to an overactive immune response. Research continues to expand the understanding and application of immunotherapydriven strategies across a wider range of diseases.