Immunotherapy: Harnessing the Body’s Own Power to Fight Disease

Immunotherapy

FAQs

1. How long does an immunotherapy treatment course typically last?

The duration of immunotherapy varies greatly depending on the type of disease, the specific therapy, and the patient’s response, ranging from a few months to several years, or even indefinitely for some chronic conditions.

2. What is the typical recovery time or impact on daily life during immunotherapy?

While individual experiences vary, many patients can maintain a relatively normal daily routine during immunotherapy, though side effects require monitoring and may necessitate adjustments.

3. How do doctors determine if immunotherapy is working for a patient?

Doctors use various methods, including regular imaging scans, blood tests (e.g., checking biomarker levels, immune cell counts), and assessment of clinical symptoms, to monitor treatment effectiveness.

References

  1. Till, S. J., Francis, J. N., Nouri-Aria, K., et al. (2004). Mechanisms of immunotherapy. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology113(6), 1025-1034.
  2. Wojtukiewicz, M. Z., Rek, M. M., Karpowicz, K., et al. (2021). Inhibitors of immune checkpoints—PD-1, PD-L1, CTLA-4—new opportunities for cancer patients and a new challenge for internists and general practitioners. Cancer and Metastasis Reviews40, 949-982.
  3. Subklewe, M., von Bergwelt-Baildon, M., & Humpe, A. (2019). Chimeric antigen receptor T cells: a race to revolutionize cancer therapy. Transfusion Medicine and Hemotherapy46(1), 15-24.
  4. Tsao, L. C., Force, J., & Hartman, Z. C. (2021). Mechanisms of therapeutic antitumor monoclonal antibodies. Cancer research81(18), 4641-4651.
  5. Fan, T., Zhang, M., Yang, J., et al. (2023). Therapeutic cancer vaccines: advancements, challenges and prospects. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy8(1), 450.
  6. Lawler, S. E., Speranza, M. C., Cho, C. F., et al. (2017). Oncolytic viruses in cancer treatment: a review. JAMA oncology3(6), 841-849.
  7. Shepard, H. M., Phillips, G. L., Thanos, C. D., et al. (2017). Developments in therapy with monoclonal antibodies and related proteins. Clinical medicine17(3), 220-232.
  8. Iodice, V., Kimpinski, K., Vernino, S., et al. (2009). Immunotherapy for autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy. Autonomic Neuroscience146(1-2), 22-25.
  9. Landwehr-Kenzel, S., Müller-Jensen, L., Kuehl, J. S., et al. (2022). Adoptive transfer of ex vivo expanded regulatory T cells improves immune cell engraftment and therapy-refractory chronic GvHD. Molecular Therapy30(6), 2298-2314.
  10. Durham, S. R., & Shamji, M. H. (2023). Allergen immunotherapy: past, present and future. Nature Reviews Immunology23(5), 317-328.
  11. Guilleminault, L., Michelet, M., & Reber, L. L. (2022). Combining anti-IgE monoclonal antibodies and oral immunotherapy for the treatment of food allergy. Clinical Reviews in Allergy & Immunology62(1), 216-231.
  12. Bagwe, P., Vijayanand, S., & Gaur, A. (2025). Vaccines as Prophylactics and Therapeutics. In Approved: The Life Cycle of Drug Development (pp. 35-91). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
  13. Geta, M., Mengistu, G., Yizengaw, E., et al. (2024). Efficacy and safety of therapeutic vaccines for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials update. Medicine103(35), e39344.
  14. Verwey, C., & Madhi, S. A. (2023). Review and update of active and passive immunization against respiratory syncytial virus. BioDrugs37(3), 295-309.
  15. García-Ríos, E., Nuévalos, M., Mancebo, F. J., et al. (2021). Is it feasible to use CMV-specific T-cell adoptive transfer as treatment against infection in SOT recipients? Frontiers in Immunology12, 657144.
  16. Martín‐Cruz, L., & Palomares, O. (2025). Allergen‐Specific Immunotherapy and Trained Immunity. Allergy80(3), 677-689.
  17. Liu, Y. H., Zang, X. Y., Wang, J. C., et al. (2019). Diagnosis and management of immune related adverse events (irAEs) in cancer immunotherapy. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy120, 109437.
  18. Sambi, M., Bagheri, L., & Szewczuk, M. R. (2019). Current challenges in cancer immunotherapy: multimodal approaches to improve efficacy and patient response rates. Journal of oncology2019(1), 4508794.
  19. Restifo, N. P., Smyth, M. J., & Snyder, A. (2016). Acquired resistance to immunotherapy and future challenges. Nature Reviews Cancer16(2), 121-126.
  20. Schaft, N., Dörrie, J., Schuler, G., et al. (2023). The future of affordable cancer immunotherapy. Frontiers in immunology14, 1248867.
  21. Li, H., Han, S., Dong, C., et al. (2025). Advancements in conventional cancer therapy combined with immunotherapy. Oncology and Translational Medicine11(1), 17-28.
  22. Mishchenko, T. A., Turubanova, V. D., Gorshkova, E. N., et al. (2024). Glioma: bridging the tumor microenvironment, patient immune profiles and novel personalized immunotherapy. Frontiers in Immunology14, 1299064.
  23. Borgeaud, M., Sandoval, J., Obeid, M., et al. (2023). Novel targets for immune-checkpoint inhibition in cancer. Cancer treatment reviews120, 102614.
  24. Mukherjee, A., Biswas, S., & Roy, I. (2024). Immunotherapy: An emerging treatment option for neurodegenerative diseases. Drug Discovery Today, 29(5), 103974.

Image source

OakleyOriginals from Flickr

Pages: 1 2