Biologic Therapy Cancer Treatment
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Biologic therapies are often quite helpful in the war
against cancer. They assist the body's immune system in functioning
better by using naturally-occurring substances in the body. The
therapy, when successful, stimulates your body to create more of that
substance. In other cases, the therapy produces a man-made version
of the natural substance. Still other biologic therapies use cells
from the body of the patient. These cells are altered in a lab and
given back to that patient.
The way that biologic therapies are given varies depending
on the specific kind of biologic therapy used. The therapies could
be given intravenously, by mouth, or through an injection. The therapies
could also be given straight into a bodily cavity, in order to treat a
particular site. As an example, gene therapy used to fight mesothelioma
could be injected straight into the lung. Many of these biologic therapies
have already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, while
many more are still in the clinical-trial stage. Patients should
discuss with their doctor if considering taking part in a clinical trial.
Possible side effects associated with biological therapies
could include chills, fever, body aches, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting,
and fatigue. Also, some patients, if they receive a high dose, could
experience a lowering of their blood pressure and in some cases might
develop a swelling or rash at the site of the injection. Most of
these side effects will decrease within 24 to 48 hours of the treatment.
And as the treatments continue over time, the number and severity of the
side effects should decrease as well.
Some people who undergo biologic treatment aren't sure
if the treatment isn't working--and sometimes it's hard to tell for sure.
Whether it's working, and how well it's working, depends on the extent
and type of cancer that's being treated. Some patients will need
to have radiology studies *such as MRIs, CT scans, or PET scans) done
regularly to see how ell the tumor has responded to the treatment.
In other cases, some tumors could be measured with a tumor marker within
the blood. A tumor marker is a substance that either the tumor or
the body produces as a response to the tumor; a standard blood test can
measure it. The tumor marker should decrease if treatment is working.
In other cases, a patient can tell just by the decreasing
of symptoms whether or not the biologic therapy is having some success
in the bout against cancer. In either case, this should be discussed
with a health-care provider for a more accurate assessment.
Biologic therapy can sometimes be used in conjunction
with other forms of cancer treatment. A person who is concerned
about either biologic treatment (who thinks this might be an option
in his case) should research the subject at libraries, online--but most
importantly by discussing the subject with your doctor. There may
be more than one option available to you.