Immune Boosters (IMB)
Immune Boosters (IMB) Overview
Immune boosters (IMB) broadly refer to therapies or agents designed to enhance the body’s immune system to better detect, attack, and eliminate diseases such as cancer. In the context of cancer treatment, immune boosters primarily involve immunotherapy, which activates or strengthens immune responses against tumor cells.
How Immune Boosters Work
- Immunotherapy:
Immunotherapy works by stimulating the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells more effectively. It can involve monoclonal antibodies, checkpoint inhibitors, cytokines, cancer vaccines, or cell-based therapies like CAR T-cells. These therapies boost immune cell activity, overcome immune suppression by tumors, and improve patient survival23. - Cytokine Therapy:
Cytokines such as interferons (IFN-α), interleukins (IL-2, IL-12), and other immune signaling proteins can activate immune cells to attack tumors. While cytokine monotherapy has limited use due to toxicity, new approaches localize cytokines within tumors to enhance efficacy and reduce side effects67. - Combination Therapies:
Combining chemotherapy or radiotherapy with immune boosters can enhance treatment effectiveness. For example, adding anti-inflammatory drugs like celecoxib to chemotherapy (gemcitabine) can convert it into an immunogenic treatment that activates immune cells to fight cancer45. - Novel Immune Cell Activation:
Recent discoveries have identified specific T cell subsets (e.g., ID3+ T cells) that sustain prolonged immune responses against cancer. Boosting these cells may improve immunotherapy outcomes8.
Clinical Impact
- Immunotherapy has improved survival rates in cancers such as non-small cell lung cancer, increasing five-year survival by about 16% compared to traditional therapies1.
- Despite advances, many patients (70-85%) do not respond to current immunotherapies, driving research into new immune boosters and combination regimens to enhance response rates5.
- Localized cytokine delivery and checkpoint blockade antibodies together have shown promising tumor elimination in preclinical models6.
Summary Table
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Definition | Therapies that enhance immune system function to fight cancer and other diseases |
| Types | Immunotherapy (checkpoint inhibitors, CAR T-cells), cytokine therapy, combination treatments |
| Mechanisms | Activation of T cells, dendritic cells, overcoming immune suppression, localized cytokine delivery |
| Clinical Benefits | Improved survival, tumor regression, enhanced immune response |
| Challenges | Variable patient response, immune-related side effects, need for combination approaches |
| Emerging Research | Novel T cell subsets (ID3+), immunogenic chemotherapy, anti-inflammatory adjuncts |
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References
- Cancer Research Institute. Immunotherapy and Chemotherapy: What’s the Difference?
https://www.cancerresearch.org/blog/june-2016/difference-cancer-immunotherapy-and-chemotherapy - Cleveland Clinic. How Immunotherapy Works To Treat Cancer.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/11582-immunotherapy - National Cancer Institute. Immunotherapy for Cancer.
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/immunotherapy - PMC. Immune response to cancer therapy: mounting an effective antitumor response.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4594836/ - Cedars-Sinai. Study: Potential Cancer Therapy May Boost Immune Response.
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/study-potential-cancer-therapy-may-boost-immune-response/ - Virginia Tech News. Researchers develop a new way to safely boost immune cells to fight cancer.
https://news.vt.edu/articles/2024/04/researchers-develop-a-new-way-to-safely-boost-immune-cells-to-fi.html - PMC. Harnessing the immune system to improve cancer therapy.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4971375/ - Peter Mac. New immune system discovery could boost cancer treatment effectiveness.
https://www.petermac.org/about-us/news-and-events/news/details/new-immune-system-discovery-could-boost-cancer-treatment-effectiveness
Immune boosters, especially in cancer therapy, represent a transformative approach by empowering the immune system to target tumors more effectively. Ongoing research focuses on improving response rates and combining immune boosters with other treatments to maximize patient benefit.
