Immunotherapist in India

What is Immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy is the latest method of treating cancer when there is advancement. It utilizes the natural immune system within the human body, which identifies and kills cells within the human body responsible for causing cancer. This medication will not absorb the healthy and non-cancerous cells but will boost the body’s natural immunity, unlike chemotherapy. The most common type of immunotherapy is the monoclonal antibodies. In this, artificial proteins are created in the lab and inserted into the patient’s system. This attacks the cancerous cells directly. Its major advantage over chemotherapy is that the treatment is usually less toxic and causes fewer side effects. This makes it a relatively easier option for most of the patients for most of the cases.

Who May Consider Immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy is not useful for every patient diagnosed with cancer. The oncologist will assess every patient with a judgment of whether there is the possibility of immunotherapy being suitable for them. Others include the kind of cancer, the stage of the cancer, and in general, the health status of the patient. Immunotherapy as an approach to rigid medical care is needed because, like any other treatment, it carries side effects possibly different from chemotherapy and needs to be strictly followed. Very promising, immunotherapy can be applied only to a few forms of cancer and needs to be adjusted for each patient.

How Does Immunotherapy Kill Cancer?

It would somewhat suppress the immune response. Immunotherapy reactivates this sense of the immune response to cancerous cells and opens it to attacks targeted at malignant cells. It does this by activating what is often referred to as “sleeping” immune cells that would not know anything about the cancer cells in the first place as a dangerous enemy. It makes the body understand and fight the cancer cells, thus reprogramming the immune system to do what it is supposed to do, protect the body.

How Effective is Immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy has proved highly effective against some cancers, mainly in a population screened very effectively. But it is by no means a miracle cure: experience with immunotherapy varies enormously not only by type of cancer but by many other factors about the patient. For example, those treated through immunotherapy in other cancers like lung report an unprecedented rate of survival as some patients even survive to the range of living over 4-5 years, which till recently was unimaginable. However, every case is unique as far as any patient is concerned, of course, and it would be very important to discuss it in great detail with your oncologist so that you understand what you might expect, that is, what you will go through and what might be the possible outcomes.

How Is Immunotherapy Delivered?

From one type and stage, immunotherapy can be administered from a doctor’s office, a special clinic, or in a hospital outpatient unit. Depending on the kind of treatment, treatment techniques, and treatment frequencies may vary if the body reacts differently for the same form and stage of cancer. Intravenous or IV can include the injection of the medication right into the vein. Other types of treatment are subcutaneous injections injected under the skin. It should be monitored constantly, such as blood tests and scans, tracing the progress one is making and changing treatments if necessary.

Types of Immunotherapy

There exist several types of immunotherapy. All of them work differently in the way they help the immune system to detect and destroy cancer cells. Amongst the most commonly used include the following:

• Monoclonal Antibodies – These are artificial drugs, designed to mimic parts of the human immune system that could potentially be used to eliminate some unhealthy cells.
• Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors – These drugs improve the body’s ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells by removing or blocking natural checkpoints.
• T-Cell Therapy: Genetically engineered T cells, one type of white blood cell, in the patient are made to more aggressively search out to destroy cancer cells.
• Cancer Vaccines: These are those treatments that try to boost the immunity of a patient so that the body can develop its defense mechanism more dominantly to be strong in fighting and destroying particular cancerous cells.

In every of the above therapies, it is administered based on the kind of diagnosis about the type of cancer.

Can Immunotherapy Cure Stage 4 Cancer?

Metastatic diseases can be tricky; however, the best approach to improving survival has been seen in immunotherapy. For example, it has been shown for certain forms of cancers, notably lung cancers, that immunotherapy resulted in the survival of patients beyond what was initially anticipated to occur due to such an approach. Not all the cancers classified as stage 4 are alike when using immunotherapy and it all depends on what a patient’s diagnosis is and the degree of their illness. There are some amazing doctors of immunotherapy, such as Dr. Vikesh Shah, who are paving the way for this life-extending treatment for a variety of patients all over India.

How Do We Know Immunotherapy is Working?

Monitor the Effectiveness of Immunotherapy Monitor the treatment’s effectiveness through follow-up visits with your oncologist. The doctor may monitor shifts in the size of the tumor and how it reacts to treatment by assessing your body’s changes through physical examination, imaging tests, and blood work. Other markers can give more details about the responses of the immune system to treatment and whether one should carry on the treatment or change the course of direction.

When to Use Immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy is not a silver bullet. It’s mainly reserved for cancers where fantastic strides have been made with research and clinical trials. In the case of lung, kidney, bladder cancer, and so on, immunotherapy is now standard care. Second or third-line therapy should be considered in case chemotherapy fails. However its usage is only as per the characteristics linked to cancer and patient information, and it needs to be administered under a professional like Dr. Vikesh Shah.

How Immunotherapy is Administered?

Immunotherapy can be administrated inside the body through one of the routes enlisted below:

• Intravenous (IV)– Straight into the vein
• Subcutaneous Injection– Below the skin
• Intramuscular Injection– Into a muscle
• Intravesical Therapy – Administered right to the bladder as a treatment for bladder cancer.
• Oral Therapy – A few immunotherapies are taken orally in pill or capsule form.

Your oncologist will determine which method of treatment is most appropriate for your type of cancer and your individualized treatment plan.

How is immunotherapy given?

The immunotherapy process goes through a set of stages through which it must pass before it can be safely and effectively administered. Of many types of immunotherapy it includes:

• Oral – Pilling or capsule to be taken orally.
• Topical – Applied by creams or ointments through the skin. It is mainly used as a treatment for localized, early-stage cancers of the skin.
• IV– Intravenously given to administer medicine inside the human body, injected directly into the vein for systemic therapy.
• Injection– Given through injection in the muscles or subcutaneously to have the drug administered locally.
• Intravesical– Injected directly inside the bladder to administer treatments to cancer within the bladder.

Patients receiving immunotherapy treatment are taken care of in case of any other side effects or complications as well and they are given frequent tests to check whether the treatment is working as it should or not.

Conclusion

Immunotherapy is, without doubt, one of the most important developments ever made in the world of cancer treatment. For many patients, the childhood dream of hope for a cure has become a reality, and those whose cancers are harder to treat have something new to try: Immunotherapy. Not everyone has the potential for success with this approach. Immunotherapy-boosting innate immune defenses in the body has since become one of the far-reaching developments that cause cancer care to be revolutionized. Dr. Vikesh Shah, a cancer specialist in Ahmedabad, is one of the top leaders in this field. His knowledge and dedication to the care of patients make him one of the go-to persons for people who want to undergo immunotherapy. If you or someone close to you is considering immunotherapy or if you have queries on the treatment options available to you, get in touch with us today to schedule an appointment that marks the next best step toward regaining hope for your cancer treatment.