IMMINO-ONCOLOGY OF CANCER THERAPY

Abstract

The four primary forms of cancer therapy used in the last ten years have been surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. Still, immunotherapy has emerged as an essential aspect of cancer treatment, offering patients a better quality of life and increased chances of survival when compared to prior medicines. A cancer surgeon by the name of Dr. William Coley made the initial discovery of cancer immunotherapy in the 1890s. He found that giving specific bacteria to cancer patients occasionally caused tumors to shrink or even completely disappear. Currently, 22 different cancer types and one tissue-agnostic cancer indication are treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors and two CAR-T (treatment to treat blood malignancies) products that have been approved for the market.