Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy

Cancer immunology is the study of the immune system's response to cancer. It seeks to understand how cancer cells evade the immune system, how the immune system can be activated to recognize and attack cancer cells, and how the immune system can be harnessed to develop effective cancer treatments.

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses the body's own immune system to fight cancer. There are several different types of immunotherapy, including checkpoint inhibitors, CAR-T cell therapy, and cancer vaccines.

Checkpoint inhibitors work by blocking the signals that cancer cells use to evade detection by the immune system, allowing the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.

CAR-T cell therapy involves genetically modifying a patient's own T cells to recognize and attack cancer cells. The modified T cells are then reinfused into the patient, where they can target and destroy cancer cells.

Cancer vaccines work by stimulating the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells. Some cancer vaccines contain cancer-specific antigens that can be recognized by the immune system, while others work by stimulating the immune system in more general ways.

Immunotherapy has shown promise in the treatment of many different types of cancer, including melanoma, lung cancer, and leukemia. However, it is not effective for all patients, and research is ongoing to improve its effectiveness and identify new targets for immunotherapy.