Biotherapy is a broad concept, involving all the methods of using biological macromolecules for treatment, and there are many kinds. If the operation mode is divided into cell therapy and non-cell therapy (including antibody, polypeptide or protein vaccine, gene vaccine, in vivo gene therapy, etc.).
Classification of biotherapy
1. Acellular therapy
(1) At present, the most widely used antibodies are some monoclonal antibodies, that is, targeted therapy. Targeted therapy is at the cellular and molecular level, targeting a well-defined carcinogenic site (the site can be a protein inside the tumor cell. It can also be a gene fragment) to design the corresponding therapeutic drugs. The drugs will specifically select the carcinogenic site and combine to have an effect when they enter the body, so that the tumor cells die specifically, without affecting the normal tissue cells around the tumor. , so molecular targeted therapy is also called “biological missile”.
(2) Vaccines The preparation of tumor vaccines is a simple thing to say but very complicated to do. It is also one of the hot spots of research in recent years. The principle is to activate the patient’s own immune system and use tumor cells or tumor antigens to induce the body’s specific cellular and humoral immune responses, enhance the body’s anti-cancer ability, and prevent tumor growth. Spread and recurrence for the purpose of removing or controlling the tumor. Cancer vaccine research is relatively hot in European countries. For example, the development and application of melanoma vaccine is relatively early. Due to the differences in animals or subjects, tumor types, vaccine types, and immunization routes used in each laboratory, the experimental results vary greatly, and the preparation methods, application scope, application timing, and compatibility of tumor vaccines with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, etc. There is no unified standard yet, and further research and conclusion are needed.
(3) Gene therapy refers to the method of transferring certain genetic material into the patient’s body, making it expressed in the body, and finally achieving the method of treating a certain disease.
2. Cell Therapy
Several types of somatic immunotherapy are currently used in clinical practice, including:
(1) Autologous dendritic cell vaccine (DC cells);
(2) Autologous cytokine-induced killer cells (CIK cells);
(3) Autologous dendritic cells (DC) stimulate CIK cells (DC-CIK cells)
(4) Autologous natural killer cells (NK cells); the content of these cells in the human body is very low, less than 1%, so we provide a method for patients, that is, in vitro expansion culture, to provide patients with personalized treat.
Indications for biotherapy
Biotherapy is applicable to a variety of solid tumors, including malignant melanoma, prostate cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, rectal cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, throat cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, pancreatic cancer, It can also be used for the recurrence of hematological malignancies such as multiple myeloma, B lymphoma and leukemia after surgery for solid tumors such as liver cancer and gastric cancer. Quality of life and the purpose of inhibiting tumor progression.
Contraindications to biotherapy
1. Pregnant women or women who are breastfeeding;
2. Patients with cell lymphoma;
3. Patients with uncontrollable severe infection;
4. Patients who are allergic to biological products such as interleukin-2 (IL-2);
5. Patients with cachexia and low peripheral blood picture caused by advanced tumor.
6. Those with organ failure.
Advantages of biotherapy
Biotherapy has almost no toxic and side effects. It can be used for patients recovering after surgery, and can also be used in conjunction with radiotherapy and chemotherapy to reduce the side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, so as to achieve the purpose of curing or prolonging the survival of patients.
