Blood cancer does not mean the end of the world. With early detection and customised treatment, patients can look ahead to significant chances of recovery.
Immunotherapy gives patients a second chance
Immunotherapy involves boosting the body’s own immune system to better recognize and fight off blood cancers.
Blood cancer , the very words evoke images of doom and inevitable death for most of us. Blood cancers show certain greater challenges than solid tumours. Nonetheless, oncologists point out that significant treatment advances have occurred in recent years. Blood cancer is far more treatable today.
ADVANCES
The significant advances made in targeted immunotherapy have greatly improved treatment outcomes for patients.
Blood cancer is a common term. It refers to a group of cancers involving abnormal or excessive growth of the blood cells or bone marrow. The most common types of blood cancer are leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.
Leukemia is a cancer involving overproduction of white blood cells. Leukemia typically originates in the bone marrow, affecting the cells that become different kinds of blood cells. Leukemia is usually divided into different types based on which cells it affects and the rate at which it grows.
Lymphoma is a cancer affecting the lymphatic system. This system is a key part of the immune system. It helps to destroy infection-causing organisms like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. In lymphoma, infection-fighting cells called lymphocytes start to grow out of control. There are two main types of lymphoma called Hodgkins and non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells, which are white blood cells that produce antibodies to fight against infections. Cancerous cells replace healthy plasma cells. This affects the body’s immune system. It leaves the body incapable of fighting off infections.
According to research, India accounts for the third-highest number of blood cancer cases in the world, accounting for 8.5% of the estimated global number of cases in 2020.
Unlike solid tumours, blood cancers involve cell materials circulating through the body. This means that surgery is not a choice unlike many other cancers. Chemotherapy, on the other hand, creates side effects that can be difficult for patients to manage.
iMMUNOTHERAPY
Immunotherapy offers ways to overcome these difficulties by providing more targeted and long-lasting treatment impacts with less side effects. Immunotherapy is a process of boosting the body’s own immune system to better fight cancer cells.
This is done by helping the immune system adapt in different ways, using:
a) Immune checkpoint inhibitors to remove constraints on the body’s immune cells so that they can respond more strongly to cancer.
b) T-cell transfer therapy, involving extracting specific immune cells that are better at recognising cancer cells, multiplying them in the lab and then injecting them back into the body to better fight the cancer.
c) Monoclonal antibodies, laboratory- produced protein molecules that help to recognize and mark cancer cells for targeting by the immune system.
d) Treatment vaccines to boost the immune system’s ability to recognize and fight antigens linked to cancer cells.
e) Immune system modulators to boost particular elements of the immune system.
How does Immunotherapy help?
The major advantage of immunotherapy is that it is less toxic to the body. Therefore, it produces fewer side effects than chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Another major advantage of immunotherapy is that the immune system retains memory of the adaptive response to the cancer. This means that the body can fight off the cancer if it returns. Immunotherapy results in much higher rates of remission.
The type of cancer and its progression determine treatment options. Medics may use immunotherapy alone. Alternatively, they may combine it with chemotherapy to provide more long-lasting results.
Holistic Approach
When it comes to cancer treatment, outcomes significantly improve when treatment is highly targeted and tailored to each patient.
This is why it is important to consult with the expert at the centre .
This ensures that each cancer is diagnosed and treated using a multi-disciplinary approach. This approach involves experts such as haemato-oncologists, pathologists specialising in oncology, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and surgical oncologists. They work together to determine the best course for each specific case.
(Dr Naresh Purohit is Advisor National Cancer Control Programme. The views and opinion expressed in this article are those of the author)
