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Immunotherapy vs. Chemotherapy: Which Treatment Offers Better Results?
By Raveena M Prakash
Cancer treatment has evolved exponentially over the years, which offers cancer patients more treatment options than ever before. While the most discussed approaches today are chemotherapy and immunotherapy, these are two powerful treatments with very different mechanisms of action. But when it comes to which treatment offers better results, immunotherapy vs. chemotherapy, then the answer is not simple. It depends on various factors, including the type of cancer, the cancer patient’s overall health, and treatment goals.
In this blog, we’ll discover more about both treatments and their pros and cons and how they compare in terms of treatment effectiveness, side effects, and long-term effects.
What is Chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy, also known as chemo, is an effective cancer treatment. It uses powerful drugs to destroy cancer cells and prevent tumor growth in a patient. It may be combined with other cancer treatment approaches such as surgery and radiation therapy.
Cancer cells grow and divide uncontrollably, while the chemo drugs help to destroy these cells and prevent them from multiplying. It’s a significant treatment approach that is often used for cancer but can cause extreme side effects to patients.
Your oncologist might use chemotherapy in a different ways:
- Adjuvant therapy: These treatments are often used to destroy cancer cells after surgery or radiation therapy.
- Neoadjuvant therapy: Chemotherapy shrinks tumours before surgery or radiation therapy.
- Curative therapy: Chemotherapy, which may include radiation or surgery, helps to eliminate the cancer and it doesn’t return.
- Palliative therapy: These chemotherapy shrinks tumors and lessen symptoms but it doesn’t cure the cancer.
Pros of chemo
- It’s effective to shrink tumors quickly
- It has a proven track record of treating a wide variety of cancers
- These treatments can often be part of a combination therapy (surgery or radiation)
Cons of chemo
- These drugs also kill both cancerous and healthy cells, especially cancer cells.
- It causes side effects like nausea, hair loss, fatigue and weak immunity
- It can weaken the overall immune system response of a patient
What is Immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy is a powerful cancer treatment that helps to stimulate the immune system to fight against the cancer. Immunotherapy helps to train the immune system to find and kill more cancer cells in a patient’s body. With the help of treatments, it produces more cancer-fighting immune cells.
Here are the types of immunotherapy drugs used for cancer, including:
- Checkpoint inhibitors
- Adoptive cell therapy
- Monoclonal antibodies
- Cancer vaccines
- Immune system modulators
Pros of immunotherapy
- These treatments often target cancer cells more precisely, often sparing healthy cells.
- Fewer side effects when compared to chemotherapy (for many patients)
- It can offer long-term remission or cure in some patients.
- It causes a functional cure in some cases.
Cons of Immunotherapy
- These treatment approaches are only effective in certain types of cancer patients.
- These treatments can take longer to show results in patients.
- It may cause immune-related side effects, including inflammation and autoimmune issues.
What’s the difference between Chemotherapy vs. Immunotherapy?
Characteristics | Chemotherapy | Immunotherapy |
|---|---|---|
Mechanism of action | Fast growing cells | Boost immune system to fight cancer |
Response time | Fast | Slower, but often long- lasting |
Side effects | More side effects (hair loss, nausea and fatigue) | Fewer side effects, but it can trigger immune responses |
Medicine effectiveness | Broad-spectrum (effective against large variety of cancers) | Depends on the cancer type and bio markers |
Cancer types | Most cancers | Melanoma, Lung, kidney and bladder cancer |
Long term effects | Might need ongoing treatment | Potential for long-term remission |
Which treatment offers better results?
If you are confused about which treatment is better for your cancer treatment, then this completely depends on the type of cancer you are diagnosed with, along with your overall health conditions. For example, if you are diagnosed with an aggressive type of cancer or fast-growing cancer, then chemotherapy may be more effective initially
People who are diagnosed with certain solid tumors, such as tumors like melanoma, lung cancer, or kidney cancer. Immunotherapy has been chosen for its remarkable success in terms of curing cancer.
In some cases, these cancer treatment approaches combine both treatments, using chemotherapy to reduce tumor load quickly and immunotherapy to maintain long-term control of cancer.
Consult Today
Chemotherapy treatment often remains a powerful treatment option for many types of cancer. While immunotherapy generally stimulates the immune system of the patient's body to fight against the cancer. This treatment approach takes comparatively more time than chemotherapy for the immune system to become effective.
At Oncare, we offer premium quality cancer treatments, including advanced cancer surgeries, at affordable price ranges with an experienced cancer specialist consultation.
If you or any loved ones of yours are diagnosed with cancer, then visit Oncare Cancer Center and book an appointment with our cancer specialist. Get an estimated cost of your cancer treatments today!
Frequently Asked Questions
Chemotherapy treatments generally work faster than immunotherapy and show a quick reaction to the tumor’s size. Immunotherapy takes more time to work, but it can provide long-lasting results and more durable protection against cancer.
You can identify whether immunotherapy or chemotherapy is working through performing some tests and scans.
If the imaging tests or scans show the tumors are shrinking or stable, then it would be a sign the treatment is working. In some cases, performing blood tests shows the decrease of tumor markers, or some physical examinations show an improvement in your overall health.
The immunotherapy treatment duration often varies significantly, with treatments given in cycles that can last for several months up to two years, or even longer depending on the specific type of cancer, its stage, and the patient’s response to the treatments.
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