Less Clinical Challenges in Colorectal Cancer Treatment

In an attempt to treat and prevent colorectal cancer, oncologists are integrating immunotherapy with chemotherapy.

For a patient to have high chances of survival, the two drugs, nivolumab and ipilimumab, are both combined for cancer treatment instead of using a single one. However, the mixture is relatively toxic.

In comparing the two applicable methods for cancer treatment, there is a slight difference. Chemotherapy gives a quicker response when it comes to healing results for patients with cancer, whereas, with immunotherapy, the benefits are often seen after a few months.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a cancer treatment procedure that uses drugs to boost the immune system. The body may not fight cancer cells because cancer produces proteins that prevent the immune system cells from recognizing the cancer cells, and this is where immunotherapy works by interfering with that process by the use of monoclonal antibodies.

They are antibodies made in the lab to help improve the immune system. Each of them works in different ways. They include naked monoclonal antibodies, conjugated monoclonal antibodies, and bispecific monoclonal antibodies.

• Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

These are drugs designed to enable the immune system to do its job. They include PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors and CTLA-4 inhibitors.

• Cancer Vaccines

Vaccines treat cancer by stimulating your immune system to attack tumor cells. They include:

• Sipuleucel-T (Provenge) is used to treat advanced prostate cancer that doesn’t respond to other treatments.
• CAR T-Cell Therapy
• TCR Therapy: TCR therapy is done similarly to CAR T-cell. The cells are taken from your blood and retooled in the lab.
• General Immunotherapies: These immunotherapies are classified into classes of drugs, namely, Interleukins and Interferons.

The battle against colon cancer treatment has now been reinforced by the integration of both immunotherapy and chemotherapy.