This shift effectively moves the strategy for fighting cancer from directly attacking the tumor to stimulating the body's own defenses.
Shift Toward Immune System Stimulation
The decision to use it depends on the patient's health status, the stage and type of cancer, and the molecular characteristics of the tumor. Potential side effects can occur when the immune system attacks healthy tissues, necessitating that patients be selected and monitored by a specialized oncology team using appropriate molecular and immune testing.
Mechanisms and Applications of Immunotherapy
Among the most prominent types of immunotherapy are immune checkpoint inhibitors, which target proteins such as CTLA-4, PD-1, and PD-L1 to remove barriers that weaken the immune response against a tumor. Other modern options include cellular therapies, specifically CAR-T, where a patient’s immune cells are modified in a laboratory to improve their ability to recognize and attack cancer cells.
Immunotherapy is being utilized for an increasing number of tumors, including the liver, kidney, bladder, lung, head and neck, and skin (melanoma), as well as some gastrointestinal cancers. Depending on the case, patients may receive immunotherapy alone or in combination with targeted therapies, radiation, or chemotherapy.
Trends in Personalized Treatment
Current research is moving away from a "one size fits all" approach toward treatments chosen based on the immune and molecular fingerprint of the tumor.
A 2025 study in the journal Cancer indicated that combining immunotherapy with a personalized vaccine targeting tumor-specific antigens could produce specific immune responses in bladder cancer patients. Both sets of results are considered preliminary and require further clinical trials and research to determine final clinical benefits.
