What is Immunotherapy?
Author: Mariam Khan
Abstract
Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that is designed
to assist the immune system in fighting cancer.
The immune system helps the body fight off infections and
various diseases, and it consists of white blood cells,
organs, and tissues of the lymph system. Immunotherapy
is a variant of biological therapy. Biological therapy is a
type of treatment that incorporates substances created from living organisms in order to treat cancer.
Types of Immunotherapy
Checkpoint inhibitors assist immune cells called T-cells which prolong fighting of the cancer. T-cells tend to fight too hard and damage healthy cells and the body’s checkpoint proteins manage the flow of signals. Checkpoint proteins may help cancer escape the T-cells, and the immunotherapy drugs prevent them from turning off to continue fighting.
Adoptive cell therapy (T cell transfer therapy) changes the T-cells in a lab. CAR T-cell therapy is when the provider(s) remove T-cells and modify them which causes a growth in a protein called CAR, which helps fight cancer. ATumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL): provider(s) remove T-cells from inside the tumor and tests to find the best cancer fighters, copies them, and start an attack force into the body
Monoclonal antibodies are lab-made antibodies that fight cancer by blocking proteins that cancer cells need for growth, or flagging cancer cells for destruction. Some inject toxic or radioactive material into cancer cells and kill them.
Cancer vaccines are typically different from infection preventative vaccines. Cancer vaccines used as immunotherapy treatments do not prevent cancer but they right the existing cancer. The immune system is trained to recognize cancer cells and attack them.
Immune system modulators boost the body’s immune response and are commonly called “nonspecific immunomodulating agents”. The first type is called Cytokines which assist immune cells in coordinating attacks on cancerous cells. They signal the immune system to make more immune cells which causes them to die. Bacillus Calmette-Guerin or BCG stimulates the immune system to fight cancer cells in the bladder and it is typically used to treat the bladder post-surgery. Immunomodulatory drugs prevent tumors from creating new blood vessels, they starve cancer cells of nutrients and kill them. Some also help the body in making more immune cells
History of Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is seen as one of the biggest and most impactful breakthroughs in modern medicine due to its incorporation of the body’s already existing immune system and using it to kill the cancer cells. Cancer immunotherapy was built by pioneers that believed the immune system had the abilities to defeat cancer. In 1891, American bone surgeon and cancer researcher Dr. William B. Coley developed the theory that the immune system can be used to destroy cancerous cells and shrink tumors through an experiment hecultivated. His principles and methods have been examined for years and was declared as an unacclaimed
hero of early cancer treatment and contributor to today’s cancer treatment and immunotherapy drugs. Dr. Coley’s legacy is recognized at the Cancer Research Institute
(CRI) which was founded in 1953 by his daughter Dr. Helen Coley Nauts who devoted her entire career to cancer immunology and drug treatments.
The right Immunotherapy for the right Cancer Type
Immunotherapy treatments are used across many different cancer types, however cancer in every patient is unique and unpredictable. Treatment choices should and are always made while in consideration of each specific immunotherapy type and which would work the most successfully.
Bladder Cancer
Commonly treated by ICIs in advanced and metastatic stages, while early-stage cases are treated with BCG.
Brain & Central Nervous System Cancers
With the recognition of glioblastoma, they are difficult to treat thoroughly due to the brain’s sensitivity.
Breast Cancer
Some are treated with ICIs and immunotherapy drugs, but only in certain subtypes and severity of the stage.
Cervical Cancer
Could be treated with ICIs in persistent or metastatic cases and larger tumors, but immunotherapy is only used by itself or with the addition of chemotherapy.
Childhood Cancer
With the addition of certain leukemias, lymphomas, and solid tumors with biomarkers typically are treated with immunotherapy, but Car T-cell therapy is commonly used.
Colorectal Cancer
With DNA-repair-related biomarkers respond well to ICIs, but clinical trials are more common to evaluate immunotherapy treatment and drug variants.
Esophageal Cancer (throat)
Head & Neck Cancer
Kidney Cancer
Leukemia
Liver Cancer
Lung Cancer
Lymphoma
Melanoma
Multiple Myeloma
Ovarian Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer
Prostate Cancer
Sarcoma
Skin Cancer (without melanoma)
Stomach & Gastroesophageal Cancer
Uterine (Endometrial Cancer
Conclusion
Immunotherapy is a crucial cancer treatment that strengthens the body’s immune system in order to better fight and kill cancerous cells, as well as recognize them. Researchers like Dr. William B. Coley assisted in spreading the theory of how the immune system has the abilities to fight against cancer and led to the creation of several immunotherapy types. As research and development of cancer continues. Immunotherapy and drugs can provide an efficient and more effective treatment for cancer patients and future advancements of cancer care.
Works Cited
National Cancer Institute. (2019, September 24). Immunotherapy to Treat Cancer. National Cancer Institute; Cancer.gov. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/immunotherapy
Cleveland Clinic. (2020, October 1). Immunotherapy: Cancer Treatment, CAR T-Cell Therapy, Types, Risks. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/11582-immunotherapy
admin. (2021, June 9). MesoTV: What are the side-effects of immunotherapy? Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. https://www.curemeso.org/2021/06/09/what-are-the-side-effects-of-immunotherapy-treatment/
Immunotherapy for Cancer - Cancer Research Institute (CRI). (n.d.). Cancer Research Institute. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from https://www.cancerresearch.org/immunotherapy-by-cancer-type
William B. Coley. (n.d.). American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Retrieved September 22, 2026, from https://www.aacr.org/governance/william-b-coley/
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