Max Hospital, Patparganj, creates awareness on advanced treatment options for ca

Posted by Education Insights on April 23rd, 2019

Pertaining to the rise in number of casualties caused by cancer in Hapur in the last few months, Max Hospital Patparganj and Vaishali organised an interactive session in Hapur today. The session aimed to raise awareness on the recent advancements in the field of cancer care that can aid patients in seeking timely treatment to curb down the mortality rate.

Specialized team of oncologists from the hospital discussed the advantages of immunotherapy for treating all types of cancers irrespective of their grades.

“Despite its wide array of side-effects, chemotherapy, for, decades is still considered to be an ultimate treatment for cancer. However, immunotherapy is a worthy alternative that is rapidly progressing to become a preferred treatment option for cancer. Immunotherapy is highly beneficial for patients seeking treatment even at an advanced stage by boosting their survival curve by upto 30%. Biological agents block the immune checkpoint proteins and increase the body immune level to kill cancer cells. Immunotherapy is giving a new dimension to the cancer therapy by improving the outcomes in terms of survival and reducing the treatment related toxicities.” Said Dr Meenu Walia, Director & HOD, Medical Oncology, Max Patparganj.

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that helps your immune system fight cancer by stopping or slowing down the growth of cancer cells and preventing its metastasis to other parts of the body. There are several types of immunotherapy e.g. monoclonal antibodies, Non-specific immunotherapy’s, Oncolytic virus therapy, T-cell therapy, Cancer vaccines.

“It is a type of cancer treatment in which the body’s natural defenses are boosted to fight against cancer. It makes use of substances either synthesized by the body or artificially developed in labs which has the potential to improve and restore the immune system. Immunotherapy helps in stopping or slowing down the growth of cancer cells, preventing the proliferation of cancer cells to healthy cells by helping the immune system work better to fight cancer cells.” Added Dr Walia.

Unfortunately, even a healthy immune system can have a hard time distinguishing between normal cells and cancerous cells. At times, cancer cells have an abnormal outer layer, similar to that of an antigen. By using immunotherapy, the immune system can be trained to be more effective in killing cancer cells.

Dr. Meenu Walia, Director of Max Oncology Centre at the Max Hospital, Patparganj, is the first DNB medical oncologist of India who has been the principal investigator of several Multi- Centric International Clinical Research trials where newer options for Cancer treatment are evaluated. Immunotherapy is another arm into the armoury to fight against cancer which is also known as biologic therapy.

“Immunotherapy works best for certain types of cancer and not all, and hence it is important to identify the patient subset for offering the best personalized treatment. Even though, it is not extensively used as other options like surgeries, chemotherapies and radiation therapies, but with the lying potential, this therapy can prove wonders.” She added