When is biological therapy used

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Financial Assistance. Medical Records. Events Calendar. Contact Us. Hospital Leadership. Hospital Auxiliaries. Our History. Medical Staff Office. In addition to the severe pain and discomfort, you have to learn to deal with a long list of medications — both from the oral and chemotherapy varieties. You want the best possible treatment, but with so many new medical terms on the table, it all gets confusing, fast.

What is biological therapy? How is it different from chemotherapy? And, how do you know which one works best? Biological therapy — stimulates the immune system by either suppressing the over-response or activating it. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Biological therapy for cancer is a treatment that is made with substances from living organisms. These substances can help the immune system fight cancer cells in the body.

Some forms of biological therapy attack specific cancer cells. Biological therapy can also be used to improve side effects caused by other cancer treatments. Biological therapy for cancer includes immunotherapy and other targeted therapies. It tends to be better tolerated than other cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy. This article will discuss what biological therapy is and the different types of treatments available.

Biological therapy works by either attacking cancer cells directly or by stimulating the immune system to attack cancer cells. The immune system naturally attempts to attack cancer cells when they start to grow. The problem is that cancer cells have several ways of avoiding immune cells, allowing them to spread rapidly.

Cancer cells can evade the immune system by changing their genetic makeup and making themselves less visible. Some forms of biological therapies stimulate the immune system to target cancer cells with vaccines or bacteria. Other forms of biological therapies target cancer cells directly by using segments of genetic material, such as DNA or RNA, or antibodies.

There are several forms of biological therapies that have been approved by the U. Several types of biological therapies are used to treat cancer, including:. Biological therapies are used in cancer treatment to fight cancer cells and relieve side effects from other treatments like chemotherapy. Cancers that have been treated effectively with biological therapies include:. Biological therapies have also been used for other conditions, including:.

As with any cancer treatment, your biological therapy will depend on the type of cancer you have, how advanced it is, and how well your body tolerates the treatment.

The treatment schedule will depend on the type of biological therapy used. Your medical team may recommend treatments every day, week, or month. Some types of biological therapy are administered in cycles. This refers to a period of treatments, followed by a period of rest. The rest time allows your body to recover from treatment and start making healthy cells. Biological therapies can be administered in the following forms:.