Difference Between Immunotherapy, Targeted Therapy and Chemotherapy

Aiwu Ruth He, MD, PhD, discusses the difference between chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy.
Chemotherapy is the traditional method used to treat cancer. Chemotherapy has been around the longest of the three treatment types and is generally aimed at rapidly growing cells. Unfortunately, aside from cancers, many of our own cells grow rapidly, such as blood cells, gut cells, and hair follicles, explaining some of the side effects of chemotherapy, e.g., fatigue, nausea and diarrhea, and hair loss.
Targeted therapy became a reality in the late 1990s and refers to treatments targeting known gene/protein alterations and cancer cell-signaling pathways. Side effects are specific to the pathway that is being targeted and are not the same as chemotherapy.
Finally, immunotherapy is the most recent treatment type, emerging over the last five years or so. Immunotherapy is best understood by considering how cancers develop. The cancer cells trick the immune system into believing that they should not be killed. Currently of most relevance, the immune system can be tricked into putting on its cancer-killing brakes. Checkpoint inhibitors (anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1) are a type of immunotherapy that removes these brakes and allows the destruction of cancer cells. However, if the patient’s immune system has not been tricked in this way, checkpoint inhibitors will not work. Research is ongoing to discover more ways cancer cells trick the immune system so that more immune therapies can be developed. Regarding side effects, releasing the immune-system brakes can increase immunity and cause immune-mediated side effects. This effect is not widespread across the body but can commonly involve the skin (skin rash), bowel (diarrhea), and lungs (cough, shortness of breath). The toxicity can often be treated with immunosuppressants such as corticosteroids, e.g., prednisone.

[@godschild3640]

I’m in so much pain. My question is how come they don’t give you pain medicine right away how come we have to suffer because it is literally suffering. The center of your chest has so much pressure and your nerves and your muscles hurt from immuno therapy. Even your brain hurts by law they should start giving you pain medicine so that you could have a better life because living like this is how I’m almost gonna quit my treatment to just go with the hospital so I could get pain medicine it’s not worth it.

[@godschild3640]

I’m a negative blood type and will die with a positive blood type does this change my blood type?

[@godschild3640]

I’m on Keytruda immuno therapy only with stage four non-small cell Adenocarcinoma carcinoma, lung cancer it’s in my upper left long, both lower lung lobes of the lung 🫁. It is shrieking, but my question is, can it grow back? It can turn into another type of cancer how long does it take to metastasize to the brain or to like the stomach or something like that and if it shrinks, can it grow back and what’s the life expectancy for this type of cancer and thank you

[@Worldturnedupsidedown]

Stage 4 cancer means it has metastized to at least one other organ.

[@redeemed2517]

How are you doing on Keytruda, my friend? I'm currently on folfox chemotherapy for esophageal cancer that has metastasized to my liver. My oncologist wants to put me on Opdivo, which I believe is similar to Keytruda. I've read all of the potential side effects with your immune system attacking healthy organs being the most extreme. I don't want any side effects. I'm going to wait to see how the chemo is doing and go from there. May God bless you with healing , strength and peace.

[@godschild3640]

Can stage four non-small cell cancer be cured all the way can you answer every question I have below thank you

[@larrystratton3431]

Metabolic treatment is the best!

[@FashionHouse1017]

Kindly explain it

[@Sam-lx9sc]

@@FashionHouse1017- high protein low carb. Look up Dr. Thomas Seyfried, professor of biology at Boston college.