Types of Cancer Immunotherapy

Medically reviewed by Prof. Shimon Slavin, MD. Updated: March 2026Oncolytic virus therapy is a form of cancer immunotherapy that uses viruses to selectively infect and destroy tumor cells while stimulating anti-tumor immune responses. This approach, sometimes referred to as oncolytic virotherapy, is considered a promising approach in modern cancer treatment. What are oncolytic viruses Oncolytic…

Medically reviewed by Prof. Shimon Slavin, MD. Updated: June 2026Cancer vaccines are a form of immunotherapy intended to activate the immune system in response to the presence of cancer cells. Unlike preventive vaccines against infectious diseases, therapeutic cancer vaccines are intended for patients who have already been diagnosed with cancer. Personalized cancer vaccines are also…

Medically reviewed by Prof. Shimon Slavin, MD. Updated: June 2026In many cancers, the patient’s own immune cells cannot recognise or effectively attack tumour cells. Cancer cells develop ways to hide from the immune system or suppress it, making conventional immunotherapy only partially effective in some patients. ATACK is designed for situations where the patient’s own…

Coley’s toxin is named after William Coley, the surgical oncologist who kick-started the field of modern anti-cancer immunotherapy. Renewed interest in Coley’s toxin has now re-emerged at Biotherapy International due to their potential applications in the development of personalized anti-cancer vaccines. History of Coley’s Toxins Dr William B Coley was a surgical oncologist at the…

Medically reviewed by Prof. Shimon Slavin, MD. Updated: June 2026Immune checkpoint inhibitors are a class of immunotherapy drugs that remove the brakes from the immune system, allowing a patient’s own T cells to recognize and attack cancer cells more effectively. At Biotherapy International, checkpoint inhibitor therapy is not used as a standalone treatment. It is…

Cancer cells tend to develop mutations and resistance against available anti-cancer modalities, both spontaneously or as a response to chemotherapy, hormonal therapy or radiation therapy. Therefore, the optimal way to attack  cancer can be accomplished by the synergistic combination of different anti-cancer agents that complement each other. The more treatments combined, the better, as it…

Medically reviewed by Prof. Shimon Slavin, MD. Updated: June 2026Monoclonal antibodies are one of the most widely used forms of cancer immunotherapy. They are designed to recognise specific targets on cancer cells and help the immune system destroy them. Monoclonal antibody treatment is now used in many types of cancer, either alone or as part…

Anti-angiogenic treatments are treatments designed to prevent the growth of cancerous tumors,  or to destroy the blood vessels that are responsible for their blood supply, or that of cancer metastases.  Rapid growth of cancer cells depends on adequate blood supply, as it is considered that tumor cells cannot grow larger than 1 or 2 millimetres…

The practice of conditioning refers to administering immunosuppressive agents or low-dose chemotherapeutic agent as part of anti-cancer immunotherapy procedures, before the activation of the patient’s immune system or the administration of activated donor lymphocytes. However, it should be noted that chemotherapy can induce both mild anti-cancer cytotoxicity, suppress some negative regulators of the immune system,…

The immune response is the one that helps the body react against foreign invasions by recognizing “non self” elements, such as proteins, viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites or foreign cells (in the case of bone marrow or organ transplantation), and tries to neutralize or reject them. When most of us think about immunity, we usually think…