Cancer Immunotherapy
Stanford Innovation Forges a
Revolution in Cancer Treatment
Call the Cancer Immunotherapy Program to make an appointment:
Cancer affects 40% of men and women in the United States in their lifetimes. It is a far-reaching enemy—and a tough one.
Hiding in plain sight, its abnormal cells are still our own—and so go unrecognized by our immune systems as an attack target. Cancer also evades treatment by being as genetically individual as people are, so no one drug therapy will work every time, all the time.
By uncovering the mechanisms behind both cancer's biology and our immune system, Stanford clinicians and researchers are developing new strategies to thwart cancer's ability to evade successful treatment.
These strategies include:
- novel therapies called immunotherapy, which harness the body’s innate defenses to destroy cancer cells or stop its growth
- genetic profiling of each patient’s cancer for more individualized and effective treatment planning
Three Stanford researchers, whose discoveries laid the foundation for today's new cancer therapies, received individual Nobel Prizes for their work on cancer biology and the human immune system.
Stanford doctors discuss the clinical research that enabled today's revolutionary treatments and explain why genetic analysis of a cancer is essential to optimal treatment planning.
Cancer Immunotherapy: The Future of Cancer Care
One approach to cancer treatment, called immunotherapy, works to tune the body's immune system so it can recognize and destroy a patient's cancer. One of the first successful immunotherapy treatments for cancer was developed at Stanford in 1981 by Dr. Ronald Levy. His work was honored with numerous awards including the King Faisal International Prize in Medicine.
Another approach targets and interferes with the molecular pathways that drive a particular cancer's growth.
The advantage of using these biological approaches is clear: Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation can damage healthy cells along with the cancerous ones, and the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation are often difficult to endure.
One of the first successful immunotherapy treatments for cancer was developed at Stanford in 1981 by Dr. Ronald Levy.
"By activating your immune system, we're working to stop the spread of cancer."
Genetic Profiling of Cancer Leads to Targeted Therapies
One of the centerpieces of the Stanford Cancer Center is its Molecular Tumor Board, where a team of cancer specialists examines the genetic profile of each patient's cancer. Using this genetic information, our doctors are able to deliver more effective treatment by:
- matching the cancer's genetic mutations to immunotherapies known to be effective against its particular mutations
- determining the likelihood of a cancer to spread to other parts of the body
- predicting which patients need to get the most aggressive treatment
"At Stanford, we recognize the importance of molecular typing for nearly every patient's cancer. If you haven't looked at the molecular type of the tumor, you've potentially missed treatment options."
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Call the Cancer Immunotherapy Program today to make an appointment: