Immunotherapy in India

It is one of the leading diseases causing mortality all around the world. Being a disease, it has been a complex manifestation, and it has been an area of great challenge for healthcare professionals. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy had remained the backbone of treatment for several decades, but immunotherapy changed the treatment paradigm and opened new horizons in combating this deadly killer. The medical practitioner, Dr. Vikesh Shah, is one such cancer specialist in Ahmedabad who has been very successful in representing the current new treatment approach in the country. Many patients are now being given hope by this cancer doctor who brings innovative treatments particularly keeping their needs in mind.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is one of the advanced methods of cancer treatment that uses the body’s immune system against its malignancy. Unlike the ordinary therapeutic approach used in cases of cancerous cells, immunotherapy stimulates or manipulates the body’s natural immunity to recognize and fight cancer more effectively. It holds very promising results in the vast majority of cancers and is one of the areas that hold a lot of interest in research and clinical use.

According to one of the immunotherapy doctors in India, Dr. Vikesh Shah, this modality of treatment is based on the principle of making the immune system distinguish healthy cells from cancerous ones. It basically targets the enhancement of the body’s ability to detect and destroy cancer cells totally.

Importance of Immunotherapy

Newer research now indicates that about one-quarter of cancer patients can now be described as rare and with very few known efficacious treatments that exist in most cases. Immunotherapy has dramatically changed the scenario of these cases, especially for many that appeared hitherto hopeless. According to Dr. Vikesh Shah: “So not all the patients with cancer will have effective treatment through immunotherapy, but this great breakthrough has been able to cut across into the mainstream of so many.

Types of Cancers Treated with Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy has increasingly been administered to a plethora of cancer types. Some of the cancer types for which such treatment has been given promise include:

• Breast Cancer: Immunotherapy becomes an inevitable component of the treatment of several subtypes of breast cancer, especially triple-negative breast cancer – it is considered more aggressive and prone to less favorable outcomes than other types of breast cancer.
• Lung Cancer: Targeted immunotherapy has given a remarkable facelift to historically dismal non-small cell lung cancer, nearly doubling the survival rate and improving the quality of life of patients with this disease.
• Bladder Cancer: Last month, scientists found major evidence that immunotherapy could produce longer-lasting responses in bladder cancer patients – an alternative to even more aggressive treatments.
• Kidney Cancer: Immunotherapy boosts the immune response in kidney cancer patients at advanced stages.
• Cervical Cancer: It has been better with immunotherapy in patients whose first treatment was not working as well.
• Colorectal Cancer: Historically tough, only some subtypes are actually targeting immunotherapy effectively.

Some of the cancers mentioned above are only examples of cancers that now potentially can be treated with immunotherapy. Much more research, according to Dr. Vikesh Shah, will have to be done before the list of treatable cancers expands and much is learned as to why some patients will benefit more than others.

How Immunotherapy Works

Immunotherapy functions through different mechanisms that enable immunity against cancer. Among the most important are:

• Checkpoint Inhibitors: These drugs inhibit the proteins that dampen or silence the immune response, thereby enhancing the ability of the immune system to identify and destroy the cancer cells better. Examples of such drugs include pembrolizumab, which has the brand name Keytruda, and nivolumab sold as Opdivo.
• Monoclonal Antibodies: These are artificially manufactured molecules in the lab, capable of targeting specific sites on the cancer cells, tagging them for destruction by the immune system, or blocking specific signals that had been needed for growth.
• Cytokines: These are proteins that can be used in the moderation of the immunological response. Different types of these, such as interleukins and interferons, may result in more effective killing of cancerous cells by the immune system.
• CAR T-cell Therapy: It is one of the newest therapies wherein the patient’s T-cells are modified with gene manipulation to kill the cancerous cells. It also is very targeted at certain forms of blood cancers and has amazingly succeeded in some forms of this cancerous disease.
• Vaccines: Cancer vaccines are designed to instruct the immune system to identify cancer-specific antigens and instruct the immune system as to how it should recognize and destroy the cancer cells.

Dr. Vikesh Shah, making use of even more sophisticated tools and technology, conceives individualized therapy that will be specific to the type of cancer diagnosis and specific to each patient’s general condition.

Breakthroughs and Discoveries Recently

The evolution of immunotherapy continues to be in the numerous important areas that continue to be hoped to be better utilized in results with treatment:

• Combination Therapies: Recent research is exploring whether immunotherapy can be combined with other therapies, such as chemotherapy or targeted therapy, in hopes of making those therapies work better and avoiding resistance pathways. These combinations become increasingly important in cancers that have proven less responsive to standard therapy.
• Biomarkers of Predictive Response: An important area of investigation that is currently being pursued is the identification of predictive biomarkers in patients that are likely to provide a positive response to immunotherapy. This would then allow for appropriately tailored treatment approaches in the patient population with improved combinations and dosing levels.
• Understanding Resistance Mechanisms: Resistance in Cancer Cells toward Immunotherapy is another area wherein research has to be provided for the generation of new countermeasures against that process. Molecular pathways involved in that shall lead to new therapeutic targets.
• Side Effect Reduction: The available cancer treatments have relatively more side effects compared to immunotherapy. However, some of the negative effects may continue to affect patients. Researchers are trying to find methods of side effect reduction, thus creating a better quality of life while undergoing this treatment.
• Expansion in Applications: Immunotherapy is getting more opportunities in cancers and stages for which it may be useful. Its broad expansion in cases of earlier stages would significantly improve the outcome of the long-term scenario.

Why Choose Dr. Vikesh Shah for Immunotherapy?

Now, how would you select the best doctor while dealing with cancer treatment? And here’s an extremely good Immunotherapy specialist in India, Dr. Vikesh Shah whose commitment to helping achieve the best result will surely shine in this field of immunotherapy:

• Experience in Handling Cancer Cases: He has experience in handling cancer cases as he has also successfully treated many and had great success with immunotherapy. Because of this, he is adequately supplied with firsthand insight into the complex procedures in the handling of cancer, hence becoming an all-trusted source for his patients.
• Personalized Treatment Plans: For him, personalized treatment plans become indispensable if one pursues to increase their chances of successful outcomes and to reduce the occurrence of adverse effects without cause.
• Patient-Centric Care: Dr. Vikesh Shah ensures that his patients are well-informed and cared for while undergoing treatment. Compassion forms the very basis of his work and leads him to maintain good relationships with his patients.
• Access to Advanced Treatments: He is a visionary in his field of specialty and has kept pace with the latest advancements in immunotherapy, bringing new evidence-based treatments to his clinic.
• Multidisciplinary Approach: Dr. Vikesh Shah incorporated the whole healthcare team to completely care for a patient. Such a multidisciplinary approach ensures that each part related to health is taken into account.

Conclusion: A New Hope in Cancer Treatment

The landscape of treatment for cancer has witnessed a speed almost phenomenally quick, and it is all due to immunotherapy at the very helm of change. Thanks to such dedication and expertise as shown by professionals like Dr. Vikesh Shah, patients in India can now afford some of the most advanced therapies which can improve their chances of recovery by manifold proportions. With increasing research into immunotherapy and more patients being benefited, it is visible that this treatment modality is not a panacea, but an important part of overall cancer treatment.

If you or any of your loved ones are diagnosed with cancer, then getting treatment with immunotherapy by the expert immunotherapist in India, Dr. Vikesh Shah, can be considered. His clinic is a beaming hope for people when they are going through the complicated treatment processes of cancer.

In today’s world, with cancer being one of the most significant threats, a patient gets personalized and advanced immunotherapy. The journey may not be without its pitfalls, but with the right support and treatment, a brighter future can unfold. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you or your loved ones in this fight against cancer. If treatment is considered, please visit Dr. Vikesh Shah’s clinic in Ahmedabad, where hope and advanced care await.