What is「Immunotherapeutic agents」?
In recent years, immunotherapy is rapidly growing field of research and has achieved breakthrough results in many advanced malignancies. Immunotherapeutic agents are antibodies made of proteins. Compared to chemotherapy or targeted therapy, immunotherapy has fewer and milder side effects. In principle, immunotherapy can be used to treat many types of cancer, as it activates T cells to identify and attack cancer cells. However, not all the patients are suitable for such therapy; instead, it’s a case-by-case situation that requires consultation with professionals. Currently, there are four cancer immunotherapy drugs commonly used in Taiwan: Keytruda, Yervoy, Opdivo, and Tecentriq. All of these drugs have their cons and pros. The efficacy of immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy and targeted therapy have been recently demonstrated to achieve much better survival than before. By the speed of its progress in development, it is expected that more immunotherapeutic drugs will be launched soon, and its further development heralds a new era for more precise and individualized cancer treatment.
