February 18, 2025
mmuno-oncology Drugs

Immuno-Oncology Drugs Help The Immune System Detect Mutated Cancer Cells And Attack Them

Immuno-oncology leverages the body’s innate immune system to target and kill cancer cells. It includes monoclonal antibodies, immune checkpoint inhibitors and cancer vaccines.

Tumor organoids preserve tumor heterogeneity and recapitulate complex interactions between cancer and immune system making them a superior preclinical model for testing immuno-oncology drugs. This is a rapidly evolving field, with great conceptual and technical advances.

Cancer immunotherapy turns the body’s immune system against cancer by boosting or training it to recognize and attack tumor cells. Several types of immunotherapy are approved for treating cancer or are being tested in clinical trials.

The immune system protects the body against infections and other illness by recognizing foreign substances that may be dangerous, such as germ cells. As cancer cells look a lot like healthy cells, they sometimes escape detection by the immune system. They also may hide from the immune system by changing their proteins or having a gene that makes them less visible.

A Recent Study by Coherent Market Insights says, The Global Immuno-Oncology Drugs Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 17,394.2 million in 2022 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 16.8% during the forecast period (2022-2030).

Unlike chemotherapy, which affects both fast-growing cancer cells and normal cells that are dividing quickly (like hair, skin and stomach lining cells) immunotherapy targets only the tumor cells. Hence, immunotherapy has fewer side effects than chemotherapy.

A subset of immunotherapy drugs are called checkpoint inhibitors. These are used to block molecules on the surface of cancer cells that signal the immune system to stop responding. By blocking these signals, the immunotherapy drug can prompt the immune system to attack and kill the cancer cells.

Anticancer monoclonal antibodies are also an important type of immunotherapy. These are antibodies that are engineered in the laboratory to target specific parts of the cancer cell. Several monoclonal antibodies have been approved by the FDA as standard of care for certain types of cancer, including trastuzumab for breast cancer and retuximab for lymphoma.

Some immunotherapy treatments help the immune system work better by taking away barriers that prevent the immune system from attacking cancer cells, such as PD-1 and PD-L1. Others change normal cells in and around the tumor to make them more appealing targets for the immune system.

The recent success of vaccines against infectious diseases such as SARS-CoV-2 and hepatitis B virus has renewed interest in designing cancer vaccines. These are designed to prevent the formation of tumors by triggering the body’s natural immune response against cancer-causing cells.

Preventive cancer vaccines target proteins that are scarce on healthy cells but abundant on tumors, known as tumor antigens. Some vaccines use a patient’s dendritic cells, a type of immune cell that can present antigens to other immune cells. Others, such as the Lynch vaccine, deploy neoantigens, unique targets that arise from tumor mutations.

However, many people with cancer have weakened immune systems that limit the effectiveness of these vaccines. Additionally, large tumors may be too hard for a vaccine to reach and attack, and they often produce molecules that suppress the immune system. Moreover, some vaccines may also trigger the body’s immune response against normal tissues, causing unwanted side effects.

The immune system is the body’s natural defense that seeks out and destroys foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses. Immuno-Oncology Drugs also can identify and destroy abnormal cells that may turn cancerous, whereas tumors often find ways to evade the immune response to survive.

However, it is still less commonly used than surgery or radiation therapy and most cancers are resistant to immunotherapy. The reason is that the drugs are very expensive and only about 20% of cancer patients respond. Whereas if researchers can figure out how to identify which cancers will respond, it will save money, reduce the need for other treatments and spare patients from severe side effects.

Money Singh
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Money Singh is a seasoned content writer with over four years of experience in the market research sector. Her expertise spans various industries, including food and beverages, biotechnology, chemicals and materials, defense and aerospace, consumer goods, etc. 

Money Singh

Money Singh is a seasoned content writer with over four years of experience in the market research sector. Her expertise spans various industries, including food and beverages, biotechnology, chemicals and materials, defense and aerospace, consumer goods, etc. 

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