Immunotherapy

Writing new cancer success stories is our first priority. Immunotherapy is a treatment that helps us write these stories with the patients we serve. Immunotherapy and cellular therapeutics represent the future of cancer care – and they are happening today, right here at our cancer center. Immunotherapy is a treatment in which the body’s own immune system is harnessed to fight back against cancer.

We provide next-generation treatments from breakthrough research, including:

• Medication infusion, in which injected antibodies manipulate the individual's existing T cells to attack cancer cells
• T-cell re-engineering, in which T cells are extracted from the body, genetically modified in a laboratory to fight cancer cells and returned by infusion to the body. T cells that are reengineered may be taken from the patient’s body, or from a healthy donor.

As a provider of first-in-the-world therapies, we are deeply committed to clinical trials that offer more options and greater access to the latest treatment discoveries. Below you will find helpful information about immunotherapy. We also encourage you to explore our immunotherapy FAQ page for even more information.

Immunotherapy is a biological therapy that uses the body’s immune system to fight all kinds of blood cancers. For example, specific cells can be removed from the body and genetically modified or reprogrammed. When they are reintroduced into the patient, those cells have the ability to hunt and destroy the dangerous cancer cells.

Immunotherapy is an example of personalized, precision cancer care, considered the future of medicine by the National Cancer Institute. With this approach, treatment is tailored to the patient at the cellular level, with experts studying the individual’s cancer cells, then determining which type of therapy is most likely to destroy those cells. Other types of more traditional treatments include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

Immunotherapy, often referred to as biologic therapy or biotherapy, is a treatment that uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer. This treatment works by stimulating the body’s immune system to target cancer cells or by adding man-made immune system proteins.

Your immune system protects your body from foreign invaders, such as infections. Unfortunately, targeting cancer cells can be a little more difficult because cancer is altered cells, and the body doesn’t always recognize them as foreign. Immunotherapy helps the body’s natural immune system recognize these cancer cells as foreign, helping it better battle the cancer.

Immunotherapy is administered in different ways including intravenous, oral and topical.

Writing new cancer success stories is our first priority. We provide next-generation treatments from breakthrough research. CAR T is changing science, changing lives personified with the story of survivor Katie Kopp.

At 64 years old, Katie was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma. Other therapies failed to treat her lymphoma, but the cancer center’s own Joseph McGuirk, DO, got her into a clinical study offering a breakthrough therapy. This first-in-the-world therapy allows scientists to precisely cut out any strand of healthy donor DNA so it can be used by a sick patient. Katie Kopp is one of the very first in the world to successfully be treated with this new method.

Immunotherapy moves the field of cancer care an unprecedented step forward toward precision cancer therapies. Unlike traditional radiation and chemotherapy – which represented a revolution of their own when introduced decades ago – immunotherapy is highly targeted. It precisely destroys cancer cells without harming healthy cells. Immunotherapy offers the potential to deliver more targeted treatment with fewer harsh side effects.

As with any cancer treatment, there are risks associated with immunotherapy options that must be weighed in comparison with potential benefits, which could be lifesaving. The possible side effects depend on the type of immunotherapy, the dosage, the type of cancer and how advanced the cancer is. When the immune system is activated to destroy cancer cells, it can cause inflammation. This can create flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills and fatigue in the patient. Sometimes, these symptoms can be severe, and can be related in part to how many cancer cells are being destroyed. If symptoms are severe enough, hospitalization may be needed.

Immunotherapy boosts your body’s immune system to target and attack cancer cells. Some main types of immunotherapies include:

• Monoclonal antibodies: These are immune proteins produced in a lab and designed to attach to specific cancer cell targets.
• Immune checkpoint inhibitors: These are specific drugs that stimulate a stronger immune system response to cancer cells and tumors.
• Adoptive cell transfer: This form of immunotherapy works to boost the natural ability of the T cells in your immune system. T cells are removed from a tumor and grown in a lab, taking a few weeks. The T cells are then reintroduced into your body to fight the cancer.
• Cancer vaccines: Cancer vaccines work to boost your body’s response to cancer cells.
• Cytokines: Cytokines are a natural protein made by your body. These proteins help your immune system fight cancer.

Our cancer center has been a pioneer in offering CAR T-cell therapy to patients with blood cancers. We’ve had patients receive CAR T-cell therapy in clinical trials and many more who had it following FDA approvals. We have been one of a handful of cancer centers in the US consistently chosen to be among the first to deliver specific CAR T-cell treatments immediately following their approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

The University of Kansas Cancer Center is an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center. This is the highest level of recognition awarded by the National Cancer Institute and is the gold standard for cancer centers. Because we are 1 of fewer than 60 comprehensive cancer centers nationwide, our patients are cared for by the world’s leading cancer experts who have access to many clinical trials.

At the cancer center, writing new cancer success stories with our patients is our first priority. We specialize in caring for patients with the most complex conditions and provide next-generation treatments from breakthrough research. Providing first-in-the-world therapies attracts patients from around the region and across the country.

The number of people diagnosed with cancer is increasing at an alarming rate. In fact, 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. With annual cancer rates around the world expected to increase to 29.5 million by 2040, the need for more breakthrough research and innovative treatments is greater than ever before.

To meet this challenge, The University of Kansas Cancer Center has started construction on a world-class patient care and cancer research building that will be a global-destination cancer center. Our goal is to become a national home for groundbreaking new therapies, leading-edge collaborative research and lifesaving therapies for cancer patients.

Learn more.