Have you heard of Dendritic Cell Therapy?
It sound really good, it's homeopathic & works in conjunction with other therapies. There does not seem to be any serious side effects.
Do you know of any patients that have had this treatment and if it helped?
Willow23
Hello Willow23
Thanks for getting in touch and welcome to the Online Community. I’m Debbie, one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line. I can see that you have joined our lung cancer forum and hope that you find that supportive.
Dendritic cell treatments for cancer are a type of cancer vaccine therapy. Dendritic cells help the immune system to recognise and attack abnormal cells, such as cancer cells. To make the vaccine, scientists grow dendritic cells alongside cancer cells in the lab. The vaccine then stimulates your immune system to attack the cancer.
All cancer drugs go through a very careful process of development and testing. Scientists and doctors are studying many different types of dendritic cancer vaccines and how they work. This research is still in the very early stages in small numbers of people. Much more research is needed before we have a full picture of whether it works, which cancers it could treat, and whether it is better than other cancer drugs, such as chemotherapy and targeted cancer drugs. There is information about dendritic cell vaccines here.
When trials with dendritic vaccines are starting, they will be listed on the Cancer Research UK clinical trials database or the Clinical Trials. Gov database and you can check for them.
Currently, dendritic cell treatment is not used as a standard treatment for cancer in the UK and there are no current research trials testing it in people. On the internet there are claims of it being used in India and working well for many cancers but these claims are unproven. I hope that this information is not disappointing for you.
On our website we have information about current lung cancer treatments. Your own lung cancer treatment team are the best people to advise you about your cancer and which treatment options are best for you, as they have all your medical details and are directly involved in your care.
You are welcome to contact our nurse specialists and talk this through over the phone. Often we find it easier to discuss things on a call. The number is 0808 808 0000 and the lines are open every day from 8am to 8pm. Or you can email us
I hope that this information is helpful.
With best wishes
Debbie
Ref:** DC/YHL
