Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is the concept of using the immune system to treat disease, for example, developing a vaccine against cancer. Immunotherapy may also refer to the therapy of diseases caused by the immune system, allergies for example.

What is Immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy is treatment that is designed to harness the ability of the body’s immune system to combat infection or disease. Immunotherapy might produce an immune response to disease or enhance the immune system’s resistance to active diseases such as cancer.

Activation Immunotherapies

Immunotherapy and Helminthic Therapy

Suppression Immunotherapies

Immunotherapy: past, present and future

Adoptive T Cell Therapy Methodology

Adoptive T Cell Therapy Applications

Immunotherapy: The Future of Lung Cancer Treatment?

Latest Immunotherapy News and Research

International research collaboration to investigate the role of immune system in health

An international research collaboration to pioneer the field of immuno-cardiology and investigate ways to harness the power of the immune system to improve recovery from heart attacks will be led at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania by Jonathan Epstein, MD, executive vice dean, chief scientific officer and the William Wikoff Smith Professor of Cardiovascular Research.

13 Jul 2020

Drug associated with lower mortality in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients

Critically ill COVID-19 patients who received a single dose of a drug that calms an overreacting immune system were 45% less likely to die overall, and more likely to be out of the hospital or off a ventilator one month after treatment, compared with those who didn't receive the drug, according to a new study by a team from the University of Michigan.

13 Jul 2020

Novel drug could enable the immune system to attack ovarian cancer

A drug known as SP-2577 could help enable the body's own immune system to attack ovarian cancer, according to a study led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute, an affiliate of City of Hope.

13 Jul 2020

Researchers develop new approach to assess changes in tumor microenvironment

Research has shown that the tumor microenvironment (TME) can help cancers grow and evade the immune response. The TME has even been shown to inhibit cellular immunotherapy, a novel form of treatment in which the cells of a patient's immune system are re-engineered in the lab to attack cancer cells.

12 Jul 2020

Promising new approach uses natural killer cells to treat glioblastomas

Glioblastomas are the most common malignant brain tumors in adults. Treatment options are extremely limited and usually not effective, leading to death for most patients within 12-18 months of diagnosis.

9 Jul 2020

Immunicom and Sheba Medical Center initiate clinical trial to evaluate novel cancer treatment

Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer and Immunicom, Inc. are initiating a ground-breaking clinical trial to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the Immunicom LW-02 plasma filtration device as a monotherapy and in combination with an anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor.

9 Jul 2020

Mapping immune landscape of hematological malignancies may help improve cancer therapies

Activating the immune system of the body is a promising form of treatment for cancer. Researchers at the University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital as well as the University of Eastern Finland mapped out the immune landscape of hematological malignancies in a dataset covering more than 10,000 patients to identify drug targets and patient groups which could potentially benefit from immunotherapies.

9 Jul 2020

Breast cancer cells can reprogram natural killer cells to aid in metastasis

Natural killer cells, a type of immune cell, are known to limit metastasis by inducing the death of cancer cells. But metastases still form in patients, so there must be ways for cancer cells to escape.

9 Jul 2020

PRMT5 inhibitors can help treat advanced melanoma

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have demonstrated the therapeutic potential of PRMT5 inhibitors to sensitize unresponsive melanoma to immune checkpoint therapy.

9 Jul 2020

Blocking tumor-promoting protein could bolster immunotherapy's effectiveness, study suggests

While immunotherapy -- a form of treatment that uses the body's immune system to recognize, attack and kill tumor cells -- has given hope to people across the globe, it fails in a significant proportion of cancer patients.

8 Jul 2020

Fred Hutch joins new clinical trials network to fight COVID-19

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has been named the coordinating center for vaccine clinical trials of the COVID-19 Prevention Network.

8 Jul 2020

Scientists introduce a new approach for immunological tumor treatment

Our immune system ought to be able to recognize and kill tumor cells. However, many tumors deceive the immune system.

8 Jul 2020

World's first clinical trial of immune-boosting strategy to protect cancer patients from COVID-19

In the race to find new ways to prevent and treat COVID-19, Canadian researchers have launched an innovative clinical trial focussed on strengthening the immune system for one of the most vulnerable populations - cancer patients.

8 Jul 2020

Scientists engineer natural killer cells that target tumors and their immunosuppressive allies

Scientists have engineered natural killer immune cells that not only kill head and neck tumor cells in mice but also reduce the immune-suppressing myeloid cells that allow tumors to evade the immune response, according to a new study in eLife.

7 Jul 2020

Cerebrospinal fluid autoantibodies target the brain in some COVID-19 patients

A study conducted by German researchers has shown that the neurological symptoms observed in some patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may be caused by autoantibodies targeting the brain.

7 Jul 2020

Human immune response could neutralize new G virus, shows study

Flashback to mid-March: the novel coronavirus had reached San Diego, California. Few people could get tested, and even less was known about how the virus mutated as it spread from person to person.

3 Jul 2020

Newer form of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus dominates global infections

Research out today in the journal Cell shows that a specific change in the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus virus genome, previously associated with increased viral transmission and the spread of COVID-19, is more infectious in cell culture.

2 Jul 2020

New tools for fighting insidious Devil Facial Tumor Disease

Researchers at the University of Tasmania's Menzies Institute for Medical Research and the School of Medicine have added an arsenal of new tools (video link) to their repertoire for fighting the insidious Devil Facial Tumour Disease.

2 Jul 2020

New NCCN guidelines explain how to recognize and manage immunotherapy-related side effects

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network today announced the completion of the new NCCN Guidelines for Patients®: Immunotherapy Side Effects series, with the publication of a book focused on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. This closely follows the publication of a separate book on immune checkpoint inhibitors, both created with support from the NCCN Foundation®.

1 Jul 2020

Researchers to receive Real-World Data Impact Award to advance patient-centric research

Three American Cancer Society researchers will receive the Real-World Data Impact Award to advance patient-centric research, the ACS and Flatiron Health announced today.

1 Jul 2020