What is immune stimulation therapy?

This is a form of treatment for cancer in which the immune system of a patient is stimulated in order to effectively combat the effect of invading cancer cells. Immune stimulation therapy is closely related to immunotherapy or biotherapy. However, it is accurate to view immune stimulation therapy as a component of immunotherapy. Immunotherapy can be seen as a method of treating cancer in which the immune system plays a leading role. The practice of immunotherapy is carried out using two major ways. In the first one; which is what we are concerned with; the immune system is stimulated to act against the effects of cancer cells. In the second method, additional compounds are introduced into the body to help fight cancer cells. This is what is commonly referred to as biotherapy.

The immune system and cancer

There is an interesting relationship between the immune system and how cancer develops in the body of a human being. The immune system is a complicated collection of processes, structures and connections that provides the much needed protection for the body. The environment we live in is full of foreign bodies in the form microorganism that are toxic to the body. It is the primary function of the immune system to not only prevent the entry such microbes into the body but also kill them in case they get in.

In destroying foreign bodies, the immune system makes use of white blood cells. Entry of foreign microbes into the body triggers a complex response process that leads to an increase in the production of white blood cells. The cells are able to engulf disease-causing microbes thus neutralizing the danger of the body being invaded and ran over.

To do this, white blood cells are able to detect the proteins that are found on the microbes. Since they understand the composition of all cells that are found in the body, entry of cells that have different compositions automatically triggers a defensive response.

immune stimulation therapy

The immune system is not efficient in destroying foreign antigens all the time. That is why treatments are sought for different diseases all the time. Cancer, in particular, presents serious complications to the immune system. First of all, cancer cells develop from normal healthy body cells. Through the process of mutation, erstwhile normal body cells develop cancer-like properties and set off on their own path with a different agenda: abnormal and unregulated growth. Because of their origin, cancer cells manage to evade the detection mechanism of the immune system.

Second, cancer cells do wage war against the immune system. By producing chemicals that inhibit the way the immune system works, cancer cells can be seen to be making preemptive strikes against the immune system, thus guaranteeing their own survival in the body.

It is these cells invest a lot in battling the immune system of a person that research in cancer treatment has discovered how important the immune system is in winning this war. The immune system is the major battlefield in the war against cancer.

Types of immune stimulation therapies

There are different types of immune stimulation therapies that are in use. Their common characteristic is that they work by stimulating the ability of the immune system to attack and act against cancer cells.

One of the methods by which they work is boosting the ability of natural enemies of cancer cells that are found in the body. For example, the body produces special chemicals called interleukins. These are compounds that play a crucial role in coordinating the way white blood cells work in the body. Also, interleukins are known to stimulate the production of white blood cells in general. Immunotherapy makes use of this relationship by increasing the level of this hormone in the body of patients. This way, the immune system is stimulated to act against cancer cells quite effectively.

Interferons are another type of compounds that are naturally made by the body to fight against cancer cells. Their ability to fight off virus infections and possible cancer development has been known for a long time. In immune stimulation therapy, their production in the body is highly boosted, thus empowering the immune system to fight against cancer cells in the body.

The fight against cancer cells is usually directed towards inhibiting their process of growth and development. Through angiogenesis and metastasis, cancer cells are able to develop, grow and spread across the tissues of the body. Interferons and interleukins work against them by undermining these processes.

Another way in which the immune stimulation therapy is used to treat cancer is special drugs that stimulate the immune system in specific ways. Usually, the cancer cells are able to evade attacks from the immune system because they disguise themselves as normal body cells. The immune system has an in-built mechanism that prevents it from attacking normal body cells. Therefore, theoretically, when this mechanism is stopped, the immune system is able to attack cells with fury. The good thing is that the fury is usually directed towards cancer cells. In practice, drugs have been made which do exactly this; temporarily stop the inbuilt mechanism of self-defense to give the immune system time to attack cancer cells. However, since the immune system attacks normal body cells as well under such conditions, these drugs usually have serious side effects on a patient.

Immune stimulation therapy holds promise as a way of helping the bodies of patients to fight off the effects of cancer cells naturally. There are several natural methods that are used to stimulate the immune system. The good thing in using such methods is that they do not produce side effects on patients. Here at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, we offer different forms of natural methods of stimulating the immune system to help it fight against cancer. we understand the method as one that arms the immune system with weapons that it is best familiar with.