Cancer Immunotherapy: The Future of Treatment or a False Promise?

 

Cancer Immunotherapy: The Future of Treatment or a False Promise?

Explore the potential, limitations and future prospects of the cancer Immunotherapy? Discover if it is a promising cancer treatment or an overestimated promise.

Cancer is the major cause of death across the planet, causing 9.7 million deaths just in 2022. This alarming death toll demands a promising cancer treatment, and here comes immunotherapy, which uses your own immune system to find and attack the cancer cells.

Immunotherapy has been progressing since the last decade and predicts a better future treatment, but it also faces certain challenges.

Here, the question arises of whether immunotherapy will be a potential treatment or just an exaggerated promise. To know the detailed answer, read this:

What is Cancer Immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy, also known as immune-oncology, is a potential cancer treatment where your immune system is used to find and kill cancer cells. Immunotherapy boosts the human immune system so it can identify more cancerous cells and destroy them. This immunotherapy includes targeted antibodies, cancer vaccines, cytokines etc.

Existing Condition and Predicted Future of Cancer Immunotherapy

This immunotherapy has rapidly grown in the past decade, and it will likely develop more in the future. It is capturing attention due to the development of checkpoint inhibitors and the determination to create immune-cell engagers and cell therapies, the next-generation agents. 

If we talk about cancer therapy effectiveness, immune checkpoint inhibitors, a form of immunotherapy, alone have resulted in tumour shrinkage and enhanced survival of cancer patients as compared to conventional chemotherapies. This fact predicts a bright future for cancer treatment via immunotherapy.

Moreover, immunotherapy treatment of cancer has shown success in treating lung cancer and proved effective in targeting small-cell lung cancer and non-small-cell lung cancer.

Limitations of the Cancer Immunotherapy 

Although immunotherapy holds the potential to treat patients successfully, it has certain limitations. It is facing the challenges of tumor immune evasion and a limited understanding of the tumor microenvironment. Moreover, a minority of patients are currently responding to this treatment, and even some are resistant to it. Furthermore, the need for combination therapies is also a big challenge.

However, ongoing clinical trials and research aim to address these challenges and limitations and can improve the effectiveness of the treatment in the future. Combining immunotherapy with traditional and conventional methods and nanomedicine will likely produce outcomes.

Closing Lines

In a nutshell, cancer immunotherapy is a promising treatment approach with potential, but not fully developed yet and in progress. Further research and development are needed to overcome challenges and unlock its full potential.