Immunotherapy

Dear Cha4,

Thanks for getting in touch and a warm welcome to the Online Community. I’m Heidi one of the Cancer Information Nurses here on the Macmillan Support Line.

Immunotherapy uses our immune system to fight cancer. It works by helping the immune system recognise and attack cancer cells.

There are lots of different types of immunotherapies and immunotherapy is used to treat many different types of cancer. These include monoclonal antibodies, checkpoint inhibitors, and vaccines. Some types of immunotherapy are also called targeted treatments or biological therapies.

Immunotherapy can be given on its own and is often given with other cancer treatments. Immunotherapy is a standard treatment for some types of cancer. For other types of cancer, it might be used in clinical trials.

On this platform we can only give general information as Macmillan Cancer Support are not part of the NHS. This means it is difficult to say what percentage of patient’s immunotherapy will work. Sometimes general statistics can be found by cancer type.

Response to treatment can be impacted by many factors. This includes the cancer type, stage, grade, the unique characteristics of the cancer and the type of immunotherapy offered. A specialist team will also consider if the person has any other underlying health conditions that might impact on how well a treatment will work.

The specialist team will always be best placed to give advice about an individual situation.

I hope the information helps. If this is something that is worrying you, or you would like further support please don’t hesitate to get in touch again.

With best wishes

Heidi

Cancer Information Nurse Specialist 

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or email us. 

Ref/SH/HC