VIB-RUG Department of Molecular Biomedical Research

Molecular ImmunoBiotechnology Unit

Immunotherapy: a cure for cancer?

Unfortunately, still a lot of cancers are incurable. Treatment only results in temporary effects, in improvement of quality of life. 

Especially once the cancer cells have developed metastases, the disease will be very hard to cure. Classical treatment mainly consists of surgery, with accessory chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Despite major improvements in the development of each of these therapies, these approaches lack efficacy for treating metastasized cells. Eventually, these metastases will kill the patient.

Immune therapy aims at mobilizing our own body's defense system against the cancer cells. 

Tumor cells are known to express tumor antigens that might deviate from the normal self. These tumor antigens are specific for the tumor. But tumor cells often also over-express a self antigen in such a way, that it becomes tumor specific.

Different types of immunotherapy have evolved. 

[Antibodies] [Immunotherapy] [BsAb] [Tribody]

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