Cancer Immunotherapy Exam questions and
answers
What is immunotherapy? - ✅✅Using your body's own immune system to help fight cancer
Can be done by stimulating the immune system to work harder or smarter to attack the cancer cells or
by giving the patient immune system components
Goals:
Stop or slow the growth of cancer cells
Stop cancer from spreading to other parts of the body
Help the immune system work better at destroying cancer cells
Most promising new cancer treatment approach since the development of the first chemotherapies in
the 1940s
types of immunotherapy - ✅✅Monoclonal antibodies
Deliver drugs or radiation directly to the cancer cell without affecting healthy cells by targeting specific
antigens
Can also be used for diagnosis
Immune checkpoint inhibitors
Take the brakes off the immune system that the cancer cells use to evade immune surveillance (CTLA4,
Programmed cell death 1)
Allow T-cells to recognize and attack cancer cells better
Cancer vaccines
Can be preventative (HPV, HBV) or for treatment ( Provenge, prostate cancer)
Oncolytic virus therapy
, Use genetically modified virus to kill cancer cells
Tumor injected with virus, virus replicates, cell bursts, releases antigens, triggers immune response
Other non-specific immunotherapies
Stimulate immune system in a general way rather than targeting specific cancer cells
Interleukins (IL-2), interferons, cytokines
Comparing chemo to immunotherapy - ✅✅chemo:
-Systemic, not localized
-Cytotoxic compound to kill cancer cells
-Does not differentiate between healthy and cancerous cells
-Serious side effects and long-term health risks common
-No memory
immunotherapy:
-Systemic, not localized
-Boost body's immune system and natural defenses
-Attack only cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone
-Fewer and less serious side effects
-Potential to continue protective effect after treatment ends
-Recent studies indicate it has improved efficacy as well as safety
where is there potential for immunotherapy? - ✅✅Bladder
Brain
Breast
Cervical
Colorectal
Esophageal
answers
What is immunotherapy? - ✅✅Using your body's own immune system to help fight cancer
Can be done by stimulating the immune system to work harder or smarter to attack the cancer cells or
by giving the patient immune system components
Goals:
Stop or slow the growth of cancer cells
Stop cancer from spreading to other parts of the body
Help the immune system work better at destroying cancer cells
Most promising new cancer treatment approach since the development of the first chemotherapies in
the 1940s
types of immunotherapy - ✅✅Monoclonal antibodies
Deliver drugs or radiation directly to the cancer cell without affecting healthy cells by targeting specific
antigens
Can also be used for diagnosis
Immune checkpoint inhibitors
Take the brakes off the immune system that the cancer cells use to evade immune surveillance (CTLA4,
Programmed cell death 1)
Allow T-cells to recognize and attack cancer cells better
Cancer vaccines
Can be preventative (HPV, HBV) or for treatment ( Provenge, prostate cancer)
Oncolytic virus therapy
, Use genetically modified virus to kill cancer cells
Tumor injected with virus, virus replicates, cell bursts, releases antigens, triggers immune response
Other non-specific immunotherapies
Stimulate immune system in a general way rather than targeting specific cancer cells
Interleukins (IL-2), interferons, cytokines
Comparing chemo to immunotherapy - ✅✅chemo:
-Systemic, not localized
-Cytotoxic compound to kill cancer cells
-Does not differentiate between healthy and cancerous cells
-Serious side effects and long-term health risks common
-No memory
immunotherapy:
-Systemic, not localized
-Boost body's immune system and natural defenses
-Attack only cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone
-Fewer and less serious side effects
-Potential to continue protective effect after treatment ends
-Recent studies indicate it has improved efficacy as well as safety
where is there potential for immunotherapy? - ✅✅Bladder
Brain
Breast
Cervical
Colorectal
Esophageal
