Immunotherapies are used to treat mesothelioma cancer. Immunotherapy is also referred to as biological therapy, and utilizes the patient’s immune system to treat mesothelioma.
Immunotherapy treatment options include vaccine therapy (i.e. autologous vaccines, or vaccines made from the patient), as well as a treatment that involves an immune cytokine.
These treatments typically attempt to stimulate an immune response in the patient’s body to fight the cancer. Several of these approaches have been tried in treating mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma Immunotherapies Glossary
Autologous Vaccine
The Autologous Vaccine is created when proteins from the patient’s tumor cells are made into a vaccine that is designed to cause the patient’s body to make antibodies against the tumor.
Immune Cytokine
An Immune Cytokine is a protein that is used by various white blood cells to communicate with each other. For example, some cytokines are used to promote inflammation near an infection.
Immune Response
Immune Responses are how the body recognizes and defends itself against bacteria, viruses, and substances that appear foreign and harmful.
Immune System
Your Immune System is made up of a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to protect the body. The cells that are part of this defense system are white blood cells or leukocytes.
Leukocytes
There are two basic types of leukocytes:
- the phagocytes that consume invading organisms such as bacteria (the most common type is the neutrophil)
- the lymphocytes that allow the body to remember and recognize previous invaders
Leukocytes
There are two kinds of lymphocytes:
- B lymphocytes
- T lymphocytes
See some of the actual immunotherapy results, including survival rates, from the various immunotherapies used for treating mesothelioma.
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