Biologic therapies, also called biologic agents, are cancer treatments that stimulate the body's immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells, according to the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. The therapy can consist of a single biologic agent or it can involve two or more agents given simultaneously. Patients receive these biologic agents via injection into the skin or a vein or by injection into an organ or body cavity. Side effects of the treatment can include flu-like symptoms, loss of appetite and a lower energy level.
Features
Biological therapy works with the patient's immune system to fight cancer, distinguishing it from chemotherapy, which uses drugs to attack the cancer directly. Doctors believe biologic therapies can prevent or retard the growth of cancer cells by making it easier for the immune system to find and destroy them, says the National Cancer Institute. Biologic therapies also act to keep the cancer from metastasizing to other parts of the body. The treatments include drugs like rituximab for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, trastuzumab for breast cancer and interferon alpha for several forms of cancer. Some patients receive biologic treatments once or twice a day, while others might get them once a week or once a month.
Types
According to the CancerHelp UK website, there are different types of biologic therapies and each one has its own way of fighting cancer. Some types are monoclonal antibodies, growth factors for blood cells, and anti-angiogenesis treatments.
Monoclonal antibodies bind to abnormal proteins or growth factor receptors on the surface of the cancer cell to allow the immune system to recognize the cancer cell or prevent the cell from getting a signal to grow and divide.
Growth factors for blood cells are substances that stimulate the bone marrow to increase the production of blood cells, particularly after chemotherapy, when blood cell counts are depressed. Filgrastim is an example.
The CancerHelp UK website describes anti-angiogenesis treatments as a type of biological therapy that inhibits the growth of blood vessels in the tumor. The tumor can't grow without an adequate supply of blood vessels to bring in oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood. Sunitinib for kidney cancer is one example of an anti-angiogenesis biological agent.
Advantages
Biologic therapies do not attack cancer cells directly, like conventional cancer treatments do, but instead use the body's immune system to destroy cancer cells. This means that they are less invasive than conventional treatments and less likely to harm normal cells, reports the Mayo Clinic. Patients who undergo biologic therapies suffer fewer toxic side effects compared with conventional treatment.
Considerations
According to the Mayo Clinic, biologic therapy has risks and benefits just like any other cancer treatment. Accordingly, it might not be the right treatment for every patient. It is up to the patient's doctor to determine whether biologic therapy is appropriate.
Potential
Cancer vaccines are a biologic therapy that might someday be an effective cancer treatment. Cancer vaccines are not preventatives for cancer because they are not given until after the cancer develops. When the tumor is small, the patient would receive the cancer vaccine as a way of enabling the immune system to more easily recognize and destroy the cancer cells. The University of Rochester Medical Center, however, notes that the benefits of vaccine therapy for cancer have yet to be clinically proven.
