The original idea sounds as simple as it is ingenious: we use the body's own defenses to fight cancer.

Based on this idea, scientists developed the first therapeutic methods many decades ago to activate the immune system as the strongest ally in the fight against cancer. Extraordinary progress has been made, especially in recent years. Today, it can be said without a doubt that immuno-oncology therapy has revolutionized the treatment of tumor diseases. It has established itself as the fourth pillar alongside surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Immunotherapeutic agents are not effective in all cases. However, for patients who respond well to the therapy, they enable longer survival with often good quality of life. 

"Thanks to the specific activation and individual support of the immune system against the patient's own tumor, cancer patients now have access to new, promising treatment options."

Prof. Dr. Volker Schirrmacher, PhD

The immune system can not only neutralize foreign pathogens such as viruses and bacteria, but also recognize and destroy the body's own diseased cells. This happens constantly in our organism and is very effective in counteracting the development of cancer. Sometimes, however, the mechanism fails because degenerated cells develop numerous strategies to evade the immune response. Immunotherapies therefore aim to support the immune system in eliminating cancer cells. There are two approaches to this: passive immunization, in which doctors administer either antibodies or immune cells as adjuvants to direct the body's defenses against the tumor, and active immunization, which uses vaccination to alert the immune system to cancer cells.

The buzzword "immuno-oncology" usually appears more in the context of the pharmaceutical industry. However, attempts to achieve breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer with the help of immunotherapies are much older than the new term.

Targeted against the tumor – with virtually no side effects

Unlike chemotherapy, which destroys diseased and healthy cells over a large area and affects the entire organism, individualized, autologous, and specific immunotherapy targets only the cancer cells. This is why the therapy is usually well tolerated by patients.