Biological therapy or Immunotherapy involves the use of living organisms, substances derived from living organisms, or laboratory-produced versions of such substances to treat disease. Bacteria or vaccines are used in some biological therapies, to stimulate the body’s immune system to act against the cancer cells.
These types of biological therapy, which are sometimes referred to collectively as “immunotherapy” or “biological response modifier therapy”, do not target cancer cells directly.
There are other biological therapies, for example, genetic materials or antibodies that can target the cancer cells directly. Patients who suffer from side effects of other cancer treatment can benefit from biological therapies to treat the cancer itself or those side effects.
