DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHEMOTHERAPY AND IMMUNOTHERAPY
CHEMOTHERAPY
- Chemotherapy that attacks tumors directly.
- Chemo works as long as the drugs are in your system,
- Chemo attacks all rapidly dividing cells, both healthy and cancerous, causing some of the side effects you know, like hair loss and nausea.
- With chemo, tumours may shrink immediately.
Our immune system is smart and strong, but sometimes that’s not enough to fight a disease like cancer. We know by now, there’s a treatment called immunotherapy that helps use your own immune system to seek out and destroy cancer. It is different from how chemotherapy works. Let us find out how:
IMMUNOTHERAPY
- Immunotherapy treats you and your immune system
How does it work?
One, immunotherapy can activate a robust, stronger than the normal immune response.
Two, it can teach your immune system how to spot cancer cells and destroy them. - Immunotherapy may help your immune system long after treatment ends.
- With immunotherapy, side effects are different and can come from an overactive immune system, and include skin rashes or diarrhoea. They are less toxic compared to chemotherapy.
- Immunotherapy can take longer to treat cancer. Sometimes tumours even appear to grow before getting smaller.
Immunotherapy is already the standard of care for some types of cancers, even at advanced stages. Immunotherapy is changing the paradigm of cancer treatments. More immunotherapies are available in ongoing clinical trials.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHEMOTHERAPY AND IMMUNOTHERAPY
CHEMOTHERAPY
- Chemotherapy that attacks tumors directly.
- Chemo works as long as the drugs are in your system,
- Chemo attacks all rapidly dividing cells, both healthy and cancerous, causing some of the side effects you know, like hair loss and nausea.
- With chemo, tumours may shrink immediately.
Our immune system is smart and strong, but sometimes that’s not enough to fight a disease like cancer. We know by now, there’s a treatment called immunotherapy that helps use your own immune system to seek out and destroy cancer. It is different from how chemotherapy works. Let us find out how:
IMMUNOTHERAPY
- Immunotherapy treats you and your immune system
How does it work?
One, immunotherapy can activate a robust, stronger than the normal immune response.
Two, it can teach your immune system how to spot cancer cells and destroy them. - Immunotherapy may help your immune system long after treatment ends.
- With immunotherapy, side effects are different and can come from an overactive immune system, and include skin rashes or diarrhoea. They are less toxic compared to chemotherapy.
- Immunotherapy can take longer to treat cancer. Sometimes tumours even appear to grow before getting smaller.
Immunotherapy is already the standard of care for some types of cancers, even at advanced stages. Immunotherapy is changing the paradigm of cancer treatments. More immunotherapies are available in ongoing clinical trials.
