New Hope for Oncological Immunization
Oncological immunisation: New hope for cancer patients Cancer, a changing disease, has long been a major challenge in the field of medicine. Traditional cancer treatment methods include surgery, treatment and chemotherapy, but these methods have some limitations. In recent years, tumour immunisation as a completely new treatment model has brought new light to cancer patients. What’s oncological immunisation treatment? Our body has a strong immune system, which is like a trained army, always protecting us from alien pathogens. The immune system normally identifies and removes abnormal cells, including tumour cells, that appear in the body. However, tumour cells are very cunning and they develop strategies to avoid surveillance and attacks from the immune system. Oncological immunisation is the re-activation of the immune system by the activation of its own immune system, the enhancement of the ability of the immune cell to recognize and kill tumour cells, or the de-activation of the tumour cell to the immune system. The main type of tumour immunisation treatment – Immunosuppressants – is the most representative method of tumour immunisation treatment at present. Our immune system has a number of “brakes” mechanisms, i.e. immunization checkpoints, such as procedural death receptors 1 (PD-1) and their formulations (PD-L1). Oncological cells use these checkpoints to inhibit the activity of immune cells. Immunosuppressants, on the other hand, can disrupt this inhibition and allow immunosuppressors to free their hands and feet to attack the tumor. For example, the use of anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 antibody drugs can yield significant therapeutic effects in the treatment of various types of cancer, such as melanoma, lung cancer, kidney cancer, etc., with some patients experiencing a marked reduction or even disappearance of their tumours and an extended lifetime. The method is to retrofit and expand the immunocellular cells of the patient ‘ s own or the provider ‘ s body, and then re-transmit them back to the patient to enhance his or her ability to resist the tumor. Among them, T-cell (CAR-T) therapy shows remarkable results in the treatment of malignant tumours in the blood system. The doctor extracts T-cells from the patient’s blood, and by genetic engineering, the T-cells are equipped with a “navigation device” (CAR) that can recognize the specific antigens of the tumor, and the modified CAR-T cells can be found and eliminated with precision when they return to the patient. However, there are also side effects of CAR-T therapy, such as cytogen emission syndrome, which require close attention and treatment. The oncology vaccine is similar to the vaccine we know for the prevention of infectious diseases and is designed to stimulate the immune system of the organism to produce a specific immune response to the tumor. Oncological vaccines can be divided into preventive and therapeutic vaccines. Preventive vaccines such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine can prevent related cancers such as cervical cancer caused by HPV infections. The therapeutic vaccine is intended for patients already suffering from cancer, and the immune system is activated by introducing tumor-related antigens into the body. The advantages and challenges of tumour immunization are unique compared to traditional treatments. It has high levels of specificity, relatively small side effects (although there are also adverse effects associated with immunization), and long-lasting effects. For some late-stage cancer patients, immunization treatment can have unintended effects when traditional treatments are ineffective. However, oncological immunisation treatment also faces some challenges. First, not all patients are responding to immunization treatment, and the current markers for predicting the efficacy of immunization treatment are not perfect. Second, the management of immunization-related adverse reactions needs to be more professional and sophisticated, as they may involve multiple organ systems. In addition, the high cost of immunization treatment limits the use of some patients. Although tumour immunization still has a long way to go, it has undoubtedly opened new directions for cancer treatment. As research deepens and technology advances, we have reason to believe that tumour immunization will bring hope to more cancer patients.
