Cancer is one of the most life-threatening diseases with a rapid increase in the number of patients globally. Cancer immunotherapy is a pioneering treatment for malignant tumors at present. Cancer immunotherapy is also known as immuno-oncology. Immunotherapy is a new age in anticancer therapy playing a significant role in the field of tumor therapy. Cancer immunotherapy is the artificial stimulation of the immune system to treat cancer and improving the immune system's natural ability to fight the disease.
The field of “immuno-oncology" is continuously growing and it offers application in fundamental research of cancer immunology. Cancer immunotherapy utilizes a person's immune system to fight against cancer by enhancing the natural defense system of the body to find and destroy cancer cells. Dendritic cells (DCs) are potential antigen-presenting cells for the induction of antigen-specific T cell response. DCs can trigger an antigen-specific T cell response. In cancer patients, the DC vaccine has been introduced as a new therapeutic strategy. DC-based immunotherapy is safe and can help cancer patients have better antitumor immune responses and live longer.
DCs have received significant scientific and clinical importance due to their vital role in anti-cancer host responses. DC-based cancer immunotherapy takes advantage of the normal role of the dendritic cell as an immune educator.
Some of the cancer immunotherapies involve antibodies that bind to and prevent the function of, proteins expressed by cancer cells. While other cancer immunotherapies comprise vaccines and T cell infusions. Since the last decade, immunotherapy is playing a significant role in treating different types of cancer. Recently, new immunotherapy treatments are successful in clinical trials. Also, new techniques of working with the immune system are being discovered fast. The important feature of cancer immunotherapy is it uses the power of the body's immune system to prevent, control, and eliminate cancer, making it a more precise solution to cancer. It shows high accuracy and specificity. Cancer immunotherapy may not cause side effects like chemotherapy and radiation.
Cancer immunotherapy has high therapeutic potential with the least possible adverse effects and tumor specificity with no harm to normal body cells makes this therapy different than the preexisting ones. Hence, cancer immunotherapy proves to be a major tool to combat all types of cancer. Promising results have been achieved in the treatment trials of various malignant tumors and improve the efficacy of immunotherapy.
