Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy aims to enhance a patient’s immune system, to recognize and destroy cancer cells more effectively.

There are several types of immunotherapy used to treat patients with advanced melanoma. These include:

• Cytokine therapy
  Cytokines are proteins that help activate the immune system. Two cytokines, used to help boost immunity in patients with melanoma are interferon-alpha and interleukin-2. Both drugs can help shrink about 10 to 20 percent of metastatic (Stage III and IV) melanomas. This therapy may also help prevent the growth of melanoma cells in other organs.
• Vaccine therapy
  Just as a flu vaccine stimulates our body to fight the flu, weakened melanoma cells or certain chemical substances found in melanoma cells can be injected into a patient in an attempt to stimulate the immune system, to selectively destroy melanoma cells. Clinical trials are in progress to test the value of treating patients with Stage III and Stage IV melanoma with vaccines.
  

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