Treatment that modifies, stimulates, suppresses, or otherwise harnesses the immune system to prevent or treat disease.
Immunotherapy is used for several diseases, particularly certain cancers and immune-related conditions. In cancer treatment, some immunotherapies help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells more effectively, while others modify specific immune pathways.
Because immunotherapy acts through the immune system, it can produce distinctive effects and side effects. Its effectiveness varies considerably according to the disease and treatment being used.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH
- Chemotherapy: directly uses cytotoxic medicines to kill or inhibit rapidly dividing cells.
- Targeted therapy: acts on specific molecular targets involved in disease, particularly cancer.
- Vaccination: stimulates an immune response primarily to establish protection against a specific infectious disease; it is not synonymous with therapeutic immunotherapy.
SEE ALSO
- Cancer
- Immune System
- Antigen
- Targeted Therapy
- Chemotherapy
