Biological Therapy

Biological therapy involves the use of living organisms or the substances derived from living organisms or laboratory-produced versions of such substances to treat disease. Some biological therapies for cancer stimulate the body’s immune system to act against cancer cells. These types of biological therapy are sometimes collectively referred to as immunotherapy, which  do not target cancer cells directly. Other biological therapies such as antibodies, do target cancer cells directly. Biological therapies that interfere with specific molecules involved in tumor growth and progression are known as targeted therapies. For people who suffer from cancer, biological therapies may be used to treat the cancer itself or the side effects of other cancer treatments. Although many forms of biological therapy have been approved by the U.S. FDA, others remain experimental. The natural ability of the immune system to detect and destroy abnormal cells likely prevents or suppresses the development of many cancers. Immune cells are sometimes found in and around tumors. These cells, called the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes or TILs, are an indication that the immune system is responding to the tumor. The presence of TILs in a patient’s tumor is often associated with a better outcome in the patient.

Several types of Biological Therapies:

• Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
• Immune Cell Therapy or Adoptive Cell Therapy or Adoptive Immunotherapy: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, CAR T-cell therapy
  
• Therapeutic Antibodies
• Therapeutic Vaccines
• Immune-Modulating Agents: Cytokines, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, Immunomodulatory drugs

Side effects :

The side effects of biological therapies mainly reflect the stimulation of the immune system and can differ by the type of therapy and by how individual patients react to it. Pain, swelling, soreness, redness, itchiness, and rash at the site of infusion or injection are fairly common with these treatments. They can also cause an array of flu-like symptoms, including fever, chills, weakness, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, muscle or joint aches, fatigue, headache, occasional breathing difficulties, and lowered or heightened blood pressure. Some immunotherapies that provoke an immune system response also pose a risk of severe or even fatal hypersensitivity (allergic) reactions. Long-term side effects of immunotherapies (particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors) include autoimmune syndromes and acute-onset diabetes.

Ongoing research on Cancer immunotherapy:

• Approaches to overcome resistance to cancer immunotherapy
• Identification of biomarkers that predict response to immunotherapy
• Identification of novel cancer-associated antigens (neoantigens)
• Noninvasive strategies to isolate neoantigen-expressing tumor-reactive immune cells 
• Learning more about the mechanisms by which cancer cells evade or suppress anticancer immune responses
• Near-infrared photoimmunotherapy

For more details, do visit: https://hematology.cmesociety.com/call-for-abstracts | https://worldhematology.wordpress.com/

Source: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/immunotherapy/bio-therapies-fact-sheet