What is immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy works basically tricks the immune system to believe that cancer cells are foreign. When running this type of treatment for cancer patients, and can make the immune system to destroy cancer cells while leaving healthy cells become damaged without.
Immunotherapy involves the use and exploitation of a patient's own immune system to help them fight diseases of the immune system will not respond normally.
Immunotherapy is a science which uses parts of the immune system to treat diseases in general, including the different types of cancer. And knowledge of this type of treatment is not advanced, such as cancer treatments other, but scientists are working to increase the knowledge about the human immune system, are being made more and more strides in this area, and one day will be Immunotherapy begins to play a larger role in the treatment of cancer .
When the immune system is functioning normally, it only destroys the cells that are believed foreign, such as bacteria, viruses and microbes. The development of a healthy immune system does not destroy the cancer cells produced by the body because they are not recognized as foreign.
Immunotherapy of the tumor
Treatment of mesothelioma patients who suffer from immune-based therapy to help the body's immune system to recognize the difference between healthy cells and cells that become cancerous even works to fight and destroy.
It is important to first understand how the immune system to recognize the difference between body cells and foreign cells or in other words that recognize the body's cells and cells of sound carcinogens. The immune system does this by recognizing and responding to antigens. Antigens are molecules that are present on the surface of all cells, both human and bacterial or viral. A normal immune system and respond to the destruction of the cells that produce antigens that are foreign, but can not respond to cells that produce the "self" antigens, which is produced by the body.
Immunotherapy also includes the use of vaccines for cancer to prevent either the disease or eliminate it has been approved for two preventive vaccines by the FDA but approved a vaccine for the treatment of cancer for use in the United States, however, a group of doctors Netherlands recently reported they have developed the first vaccine to cure for mesothelioma and reported their findings in the American Journal of Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care. Dutch vaccine uses tumor analyst - spring stem cells to stimulate the immune system of those who suffer from mesothelioma. According to the authors of the study to the very positive results in clinical trials.
Active immunotherapy of the tumor
Treatments designed to stimulate the immune system to fight the disease. Vaccines, a type of active immunotherapy. Cancer vaccines and a bit different which is designed to combat diseases that are already in the body, where they are managed in most other vaccines for the prevention of diseases.
Vaccines are created from mesothelioma cancer cells through the removal of the patient's mesothelioma. This is done in the laboratory using antigens or cancer cells removed from the cells. And these cells are modified or antigens in vitro can be even recognized by the immune system of the patient, and then is injected back into the patient.
Passive immunotherapy of the tumor
Passive immunotherapy is one of the treatments that use ingredients that are created outside the body. These types of treatments are different from active immunotherapy in the treatment of this negative is not trying to force the immune system to destroy cancer cells.
Monoclonal antibody treatment and works to remove cancer cells from the patient, which developed later in the laboratory with other cells that produce antibodies in response to antigens in cancer cells. During this process is the production of antibodies that recognize the antigen identical himself and for this reason been called monoclonal.
Non-specific immunotherapy of the tumor
Specific immunotherapy is different from other types of immunotherapy in that it does not involve the use of cells from the patient's body. Instead, based largely on these treatments are non-specific molecules called cytokines, which are an important part of the immune system.
Cytokines
Are chemicals produced mainly by white blood cells. And provide signals to regulate aspects of immune cell growth both jobs. Cytokines include interleukins, interferon, and tumor necrosis factors, erythropoitin and motivating factors of the colony. Currently, cytokines are being used to help mitigate the effects of conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation, but is man-made as well as cytokines that are used to help strengthen the immune system and as adjunctive therapy with tumor vaccines. The injection works by cytokines, either into a vein or muscle, or under the skin
Interferon
Is a group of cytokines that help the body fight viral infections and cancer. There are three types of interferons that have been approved by the FDA, but is used only anti-virus, known as alpha interferon for the treatment of cancer. Interferon works by slowing the growth of cancer cells by slowing the growth of the tumor blood flow and cause cancer cells to produce more of the antibiotics, making it easier for the body's immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer cells.
Mesothelioma Immunotherapy