Immune system cells and proteins called antibodies, which are part of the immune system, work against cancer and other diseases by creating an immune response against foreign invaders. This immune response is unique because antibodies are specifically programmed to recognize and defend against certain antigens. Antibodies respond to antigens by latching on to them. Biological therapies used to treat cancer target some of the defenses by boosting, directing or restoring the body's own cancer-fighting mechanisms. C. Chemotherapy is the use of medications or chemicals with cancer-fighting abilities.
Chemotherapy drugs interfere with the cancer cells' ability to grow or multiply.
Different groups of drugs act on cells in different ways. Identification of the type of disease is important because certain chemotherapies work best for certain diseases. Even patients diagnosed with the same disease may be treated with different agents, depending on what is known to be most effective for the particular circumstances. Chemotherapy can damage normal cells as well as cancer cells. Those normal cells most effected are ones which divide rapidly.