Biological treatment of tumors is mainly through the mobilization of the host's natural defense mechanisms or to give some substance produced by innate anti-tumor effect to obtain. As against tumor-depth understanding of defense mechanisms and the rapid development of biotechnology, biological therapy include Ju more extensive range and clinical application. Including immunotherapy, gene therapy, molecular targeted therapy, radioimmunotherapy, expansion of hematopoietic stem cells and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and other therapies.
Therapy on tumor biology are as follows:
Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are basically aimed at directly killing tumor cells, less specific, often difficult to completely eliminate tumor cells, but also easy to damage normal tissue, particularly in the anti-tumor mechanism of injury an important role in the immune system. Biological therapy is a individual treatment, it is extremely specific, toxicity, human anti-tumor immunity can be adjusted for cancer gene and protein design highly targeted drugs directed gene therapy, these drugs only kill death of cancer cells with little damage normal cells. The main advantages as follows:
Therapy on tumor biology (1) to modern molecular biology, cell biology and molecular immunology and other cutting-edge science-based, to enhance the host's defense mechanisms and reduce the host immune suppression, to improve the host immune response against the tumor as the main purposes. emphasized that tumor development and prognosis and treatment of the molecular basis of targeted, specific (targeted) and effectiveness. For the CD molecules, membrane receptor signal transduction, gene transduction, angiogenesis and other targets, to design appropriate drugs (monoclonal antibodies or small molecules and others viruses or cells specific for tumor prevention and treatment, is considered the treatment of cancer biology important breakthrough. cytokines, effector cells, monoclonal antibodies and the emergence of a variety of molecular targeted drugs, biological treatment the tumor growing, more and more precise effects. become the focus of cancer therapy.
Therapy on tumor biology (2) on normal hematopoietic, immune, and no major negative impact on organ function and the most significant toxicity. Most of the biological treatment and drugs by enhancing the immune function for therapeutic purposes. With the development of genetic engineering technology, biological agents less and less adverse reactions, in addition to fever, fatigue and other common adverse reactions, and immune function of hematopoietic no adverse reaction, hematopoietic and immune function with enhancement.
Therapy on tumor biology (3) alone has the exact effect on the tumor or with other means of simultaneous or sequential treatment may play a synergistic role. Variety of biological treatment, in particular, the success of molecular targeted therapy, which greatly promoted the research in this field. Biological therapy with radiotherapy, chemotherapy and other methods in combination, can reduce chemotherapy side effects, and enhance host tolerance, and ultimately improve the outcome.