WHY IMMUNOTHERAPY TREATMENT?
To learn more about immunotherapy and how it may help you or a loved one, talk to a medical oncologist.
What is it? How does it work?
Microsatellite instability is a genetic marker, which may be found in many types of cancer. It happens when the body stops correcting certain mistakes in cells.
Mismatch Repair (MMR) is the body’s spellchecker. It finds mistakes in cells and fixes them. But sometimes the MMR can stop working properly.
“With the availability of targeted therapies and new treatment options like immunotherapy, there’s hope to prolong life.”
“The interesting thing about immunotherapy is, when a head and neck cancer patient is responsive to it, he or she will continue to receive the benefits of the treatment. So when you follow these patients for two years, you’ll find that 70 to 80 percent of them remain responsive to the treatment.”
“There was a lot of skepticism in the medical community that something as gentle as immunotherapy could work for something as aggressive as cancer. But from recent clinical trials we now know that it could be effective in the right circumstances.”
“In the past, majority of lung cancer patients can only live one year. The median survival is only around a year to 17 months. But with the introduction of immunotherapy, the patient can live longer; the response rate is high and is more consistent.”