Dr. Ucar also cautions that while chemotherapy can have harsh side effect, it is necessary to kill the cancer. There are many new treatments on the horizon. Gene therapy is one of them. Dr. Ucar feels this is a ways off, however, as there are many technological barriers to be overcome. More exciting, he feels, is the area of immunotherapy.
Immunotherapy stimulates a person's own immune system to fight cancer.
The immune system is the body's natural defense against disease. They are being armed with toxins or radioactive chemicals and used to directly target tumors. This allows the tumor to be destroyed while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue. Herceptin is an immunotherapy being used to treat breast and prostate cancer, and many new agents are being developed. Glendale Memorial is currently involved in several immunotherapy clinical research trials, including colon cancer, lymphoma and adenocarcinoma.