Cancer immunotherapy is the stimulation of a patient's own immune system to fight cancer, exploiting tumor antigens, molecular markers on the surface of cancer cells, to trigger an immune response through antibodies or T-cell receptors. An early precedent came in 1891, when American surgeon William Coley inoculated patients with inoperable tumors with Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria, achieving complete tumor regression in just over half of patients with inoperable soft-tissue sarcomas. The modern field began in the 1980s at the National Cancer Institute, developing monoclonal antibodies, checkpoint inhibitors, cytokine therapies and adoptive cell approaches; checkpoint inhibitors work by blocking inhibitory pathways such as PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 to enhance T-cell activity, while adoptive cell therapies modify a patient's own immune cells to recognize cancer-specific antigens.
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Immunotherapy
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1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immunotherapy, lead sectionQuote, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immunotherapy, lead section
Immunotherapy, also known as biological therapy or biotherapy, encompasses a diverse set of therapeutic strategies that harness or modify the immune system to prevent, control, or eliminate disease.
2. Wikipedia: Cancer Immunotherapy
Wikimedia FoundationHistory section, William Coley passageQuote, History section, William Coley passage
One of the most well-known effects of microorganisms on ... cancer was reported in 1891, when an American surgeon, William Coley, inoculated patients having inoperable tumours
Frequently Asked Questions
Was cancer immunotherapy tried before the modern era?
Yes: William Coley used bacterial inoculation on inoperable tumors in 1891.
Yes, in an early form. In 1891 the American surgeon William Coley inoculated patients who had inoperable tumors with Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria. The record describes complete tumor regression in just over half of patients with inoperable soft-tissue sarcomas. The modern field, built on monoclonal antibodies, checkpoint inhibitors, cytokine therapies and adoptive cell approaches, began in the 1980s at the National Cancer Institute. This is a historical account of what was reported, not medical advice.
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