Immunotherapy: A new era in the battle against cancer
Dendritic cells can boost the immune system and help fight cancer. SHISHIR SETH, DOCTOR
What if your immune system could be taught to kill cancer? People battling cancer have to undergo multiple rounds of chemotherapy but still tend to get overpowered by the disease. Now, one can take the aid of Apceden, which is immunotherapy with dendritic cells (DCs).
Throughout our life, the cells in our body grow and divide. But when cells start dividing uncontrollably, they become cancerous. “One of the biggest challenges in fighting cancer has been that cancer cells find ways of becoming invisible to the body’s defences. The immune system cannot fight an enemy it doesn’t recognise. We come across cases where the patient has exhausted other treatments and has weak prognosis. Cancer immunotherapy with dendritic cells can boost the immune system with the momentum it needs to recognise, attack, and destroy cancer cells,” says Dr Shishir Seth, senior consultant, Apollo Hospitals, Delhi, where Apceden will now be made available.
Apceden is a dendritic cell formulation derived from patient’s own blood cells and tumor, thus, making it specific for each patient and their cancer. The process of manufacturing takes eight days. A set of six doses is prepared simultaneously that are infused every two weeks, making the treatment last for up to three months. Apceden is a product of APAC Biotech, the only governmentapproved company in India manufacturing and marketing dendritic cell immunotherapy.
The treatment has shown multiple benefits including the ability to delay disease progression, prolong patient survival, and improve the quality of life.
Immunotherapy uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer and has been recognised as the fourth modality in cancer treatment after surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Recognising their potential, dendritic cell immunotherapy has been approved in USA and Europe for treatment of cancers.