We used to think that the immune system wasn't very important in cancer, except for one or two types. Now we understand that this isn't the case. Our soldier cells that fight cancer, T cells, or T lymphocytes, don't function very well under sadness and high stress; they become sluggish and dull. In fact, cancer cells form in our bodies every day, but our T lymphocytes recognize them, saying, "Come here, you naughty thing!" and eat them. When T lymphocytes become sluggish and unable to recognize and attack cancer cells, those cancer cells grow, multiply, create their own blood vessels, and become actual cancer. Now, the newest approach in oncology is to activate these T cells more against cancer. For this purpose, 5 immunotherapy drugs (pembrolizumab, nivolumab, atezolizumab, durvalumab, avelumab) are currently widely used in various types of cancer. With these drugs, both the chance of a response to treatment increases and we see very long survival times.
Dr. Süalp Tansan
