20 Facts You Should Know About Immunotherapy Treatment

FACT #4:Currently, there are five types of immunotherapies available for over 20 types of cancer.

By June 2017, the U.S. FDA had approved 32 immunotherapies for various cancers, including melanoma, lung, bladder, kidney, lymphoma, leukemia, and prostate cancer. These immunotherapies bolster the immune system's cancer-fighting abilities in different ways:

1. Cell-Based Immunotherapies: These therapies boost patients' immune systems by introducing immune cells, like bone marrow transplants and advanced treatments like CAR T cells.

2. Immunomodulators: These substances can directly stimulate immune cells to combat cancer. The first immunomodulator, IFN-α, received FDA approval in 1986 for leukemia.

3. Vaccines: Vaccines educate and activate the immune system to target potential threats.

4. Antibody-Based Targeted Therapies: These therapies directly target cancer cells or other supporting elements for tumors. The first antibody, rituximab, gained approval for lymphoma treatment in 1997.

5. Oncolytic Viruses: These modified viruses infect cancer cells, causing them to rupture and drawing the attention of the immune system.