Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer. It does this by boosting the immune system’s natural ability to recognize and attack cancer cells.

There are several types of immunotherapy, but one of the most promising forms is where patients’ own cells are used to fight their cancer.

What is Immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer. It works by boosting the immune system’s natural ability to recognize and attack cancer cells.

There are several types of immunotherapy, including:.

• Checkpoint inhibitors
• Monoclonal antibodies
• Cancer vaccines
• Adoptive cell transfer

Adoptive cell transfer is a type of immunotherapy that uses patients’ own cells to fight their cancer. This is also known as cell-based immunotherapy or cellular immunotherapy.

How Does Adoptive Cell Transfer Work?

Adoptive cell transfer involves removing a patient’s own immune cells, growing them in a laboratory, and then infusing them back into the patient to help fight their cancer.

The goal is to create a large army of cancer-fighting immune cells that, when infused back into the patient, will recognize and attack their cancer cells.

There are several steps involved in adoptive cell transfer:.

1. Removing immune cells from the patient’s blood
2. Growing the immune cells in a laboratory
3. Modifying the immune cells to make them better at attacking cancer cells
4. Infusing the modified immune cells back into the patient

There are two main types of adoptive cell transfer:.

• Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy
• Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy

Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte (TIL) Therapy

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy involves removing immune cells from a patient’s tumor, growing them in a laboratory, and then infusing them back into the patient.

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The TIL cells are modified to make them better at recognizing and attacking cancer cells.

Studies have shown that TIL therapy can be effective in shrinking tumors and improving survival in patients with advanced melanoma. It is currently being studied in other types of cancer as well.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy involves modifying a patient’s T cells to make them better at recognizing and attacking cancer cells.

The T cells are modified in a laboratory by adding a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that recognizes a specific protein on the surface of cancer cells.

The modified T cells are then infused back into the patient, where they go to work attacking the cancer cells. CAR T-cell therapy has been shown to be effective in treating certain types of blood cancers, such as leukemia and lymphoma.

Side Effects of Adoptive Cell Transfer

Adoptive cell transfer can cause side effects, which can range from mild to severe. The most common side effects include:.

• Fever
• Chills
• Low blood pressure
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Dizziness

Less common but more severe side effects can include:.

• Organ damage
• Neurological problems
• Blood clots
• Severe infections

Not all patients will experience side effects, and the severity of side effects can vary from patient to patient.

Conclusion

Adoptive cell transfer is a promising type of immunotherapy that uses patients’ own cells to fight their cancer.

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy are two main types of adoptive cell transfer. Although this treatment can cause side effects, it has the potential to improve outcomes for patients with certain types of cancer.