Types of Biological Cancer Immunotherapy

THE FIELD OF IMMUNOTHERAPY IS COMPRISED OF:

• Alternative Medicines - Chinese herbs, dietary supplements and homeopathic medicines. These are often used as supplements to traditional medicine or when traditional medicine has failed.


• Biologicals - Pharmaceutical grade products developed by biotechnology/drug companies that are clinically tested and require government approval/clearance for marketing.
  

Within the field of biologicals there are three main categories of immunotherapy; passive, active and a new class called combination immunotherapy.

Passive immunotherapies do not rely on the body to attack the disease; passive immunotherapies employ immune system components (such as antibodies) created outside of the body to destroy the cancer cells.

Active immunotherapies stimulate the body's own immune system to fight the tumor.

Combination immunotherapy, a new class of immunotherapy drugs, possess both active and passive activity.