Recently in the medical community, researchers, doctors, and scientists are trying to develop new treatments to help with cancer patients. Specifically, by investigating the nature of dendritic cells, scientists have been able to hopefully develop vaccines for cancer treatment. The US National Library of Medicine describes dendritic cell based anti-tumor vaccines have been deemed safe for patients. The researchers have found that a subset of dendritic cells has been effective at activating cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells which promote anti-tumor immune response. The goal of this immunotherapy is to kill cancer cells by exposing them to boosted anti-tumor dendritic cells. The cells respond with adaptive immune responses by allowing immunity to foreign antigens or tolerance to self-molecules.
Scientific Reports describes a study of PD-1 inhibitors for treating advanced or metastatic cancer. The clinical trial showed to be most effective for patients under 65, male, current or former smokers, no CNS or liver metastasis, no EGFR mutation, and had high PD-L1 expression. The goal of this drug is to inhibit immune checkpoints of pathways to stabilize advanced or inoperable cancers. However, at this stage it is difficult to determine the factors of patients that would benefit most from immunotherapy. The study did show that immunotherapy showed to be tolerated better than chemotherapy. The anti-PD-1 inhibitor therapy resulted in a higher risk of arthralgia, diarrhea, dyspnea, pyrexia, rash, pneumonitis, and pruritus. Since the study was a clinical trial, it is hard to determine the price point of this immunotherapy administered to patients.
I read other articles about researchers trying to develop immunotherapy to help those whose cancers have grown too fast and progressed past the point of chemotherapy being successful. I think this therapy is a genius way to slow or even stop cancerous cells from multiplying and is definitely a step in the right direction to cure cancer. I personally have had a family member lose their life to pancreatic cancer recently, so when I read about all of these new therapies and treatments, I am hopeful for the future of medicine. I hope that one day scientists and doctors will find the cure for cancer so it won’t affect the ones we love anymore. Also, I hope to read and research more about the different therapies and clinical trials to gain a better understanding of not only the immune system, but also the future of medicine.
Carley's Blog 