Immunotherapy vs chemotherapy: what is the difference?

Chemotherapy is a well-known treatment for many cancers, including mesothelioma. Despite dating back to the 1890s, immunotherapy is less well-known. In this article, we discuss the main differences between the two treatments.

Chemotherapy:

Chemotherapy is a treatment that uses anti-cancer drugs to kill cancer cells. The drugs disrupt how the cancer cells grow and, unfortunately, also damage healthy cells. This is why chemotherapy has negative side-effects which can include nausea and hair loss. Fortunately, healthy cells are able to repair the damage caused by chemotherapy treatment.

Immunotherapy:

In comparison, immunotherapy (biological therapy), boosts the body’s natural defences to fight cancer cells. There are a number of different types of immunotherapy:

Monoclonal Antibodies (MABs)

These work by finding specific cell proteins. They can be targeted at cancer cells or at cells in the immune system, and work differently depending on which protein they are targeting. This immunotherapy treatment is given through subcutaneous injections or through a drip infusion. The potential side effects are:

• Breathlessness
• Itchy rash
• Fever
• Chills
• Diarrhoea
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Vomiting

Checkpoint Inhibitors:

Checkpoint inhibitors are used to treat lung cancer and melanoma skin cancer. They work by blocking proteins that stop the immune system from attacking cancer cells. Treatment is given via a drip into the bloodstream. The potential side effects are similar to those for Monoclonal Antibodies.

Cytokines:

Cytokines are a group of proteins which are important in cell signalling. They boost the immune system. They work by:

• disrupting how cancer cells grow
• stimulating the immune system
• Encouraging cells to attack cancer cells and produce chemicals that attract immune system cells to them.

Various cancers can be treated with cytokines. This includes: renal cancer, melanoma, myeloma, and some types of leukaemia. Again side-effects for all immunotherapy treatments are similar. These are the main types of immunotherapy treatments currently available to cancer sufferers.

Conclusion:

Chemotherapy and immunotherapy can be used with other treatments. Gene Hartline was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in July 2016. He  had both chemotherapy and immunotherapy to treat the cancer. Following three months of chemotherapy his tumour burden had reduced by more than 50%. Sadly, the chemotherapy then stopped working. As a result, Mr Hartline chose to have immunotherapy treatments instead and received an experimental drug called nuvolumab. He was treated with this drug once every two weeks, and received it through an IV. He only had very minor side-effects and thankfully his cancer is now in remission. Whilst no one knows how long this might last, Mr Hartline is going to make the most of his extra time. His story shows how chemotherapy and immunotherapy can work together to treat cancer and extend lives. We would stress that every case is different, and your doctor will be able to advise you on what drugs might have the best impact on your cancer.

How can we help?

If you have received a mesothelioma diagnosis, please contact us today to see if you may be able to claim compensation. You can contact us by calling our freephone number which is 0800 038 6767. You can also fill in our contact form here, and a member of our team will be in touch.

The post Immunotherapy vs chemotherapy: what is the difference? appeared first on Asbestos Justice.

from News – Asbestos Justice http://ift.tt/2F0mAVR
via IFTTT