Immunotherapy and the treatment of cancer

What is Immunotherapy?

According to the Brazilian National Cancer Institute, INCA, Immunotherapy is a treatment that works by stimulating the patient's immune system through substances that alter the way the body responds.

Immunotherapy is not a standard treatment, widely consolidated, as it is still in the testing phase. To be no longer an experimental treatment, it is necessary to validate its efficiency and clinical applicability in scientific research.

Judy Perkings case

Judy Perkings is an American patient, aged 49, who was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer two years ago. By that time, the disease had already hit the liver and other parts of the body and there was no standard treatment to follow.

So, she underwent immunotherapy, which, according to researchers at the US National Cancer Institute, is still experimental.

The procedure was to analyze the genetic mutations of Judy's tumors and which white blood cells were being successful in defending the body. The researchers reproduced these blood cells in the laboratory and inserted them into Judy's body. The treatment was successful and the patient was found without traces of the disease.

This case was published in the journal Nature Medicine and brings a new perspective under the treatments of cancer. Although it is encouraging news, this procedure still does not serve all patients and needs to undergo much research to validate its efficiency, applicability and safety.

Source: G1