Immunology & Oncology

Our immune system protects us from diseases, including cancer. Normally our immune system spots and destroys faulty cells but sometimes these cells can escape detection and develop into tumors. Immunotherapy is a relatively new form of treatment that re-awakens the immune system so it can fight cancer. Engaging the immune system in this way might have long-lasting benefits, if the immune system can ‘remember’ the cancer and stop it coming back.

Surgery is the main treatment in nearly every case of cancer, and it is the main treatment for both pheochromocytoma and Merkel cell cancer. During surgery, the doctor removes the tumor along with a small border of healthy tissue around the tumor, called a margin. For pheochromocytoma, laparoscopic surgery may be performed. Laparoscopic surgery is a less invasive type of surgery that uses three or four small incisions instead of one large incision. A thin, lighted tube called a laparoscope that is attached to a video camera is inserted through one opening to guide the surgeon. Surgical instruments are inserted through the other openings to perform the surgery. If removing the tumor using surgery is not possible, it is called an inoperable tumor, and the doctor will recommend another type of treatment. The patient candidate for surgery does not depend on factors such as the type, size, location, grade and stage of the Tumor along with the consideration of the general health factors like age, physical fitness and other coexisting medical conditions. Surgery will be combined with other Cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, Radiation therapy or hormone therapy in some Cases.

Reproductive Cancers are those Cancers that occur in the reproductive organs of both Women and Men. In Women, these are Cancers that commonly occur in the breast, cervix, vulva, endometrium or Ovaries. In men reproductive Cancer can be found in the prostate, testicles, and penis.

Radiation medical speciality is to embrace all aspects of analysis which influences the treatment of cancer using radiation. The sphere of radiation medical speciality covers the admixture of action therapy into multimodal treatment approaches. External beam radiation is delivered outside the body. This includes leading high-energy radiation beams at the area being targeted among the body victimization varied radiation machines. Brachytherapy is radiation applied directly to the target. It is extremely effective as the radiation is focused on the target diseased site instead of healthy closed organs. Radioimmune therapy (RIT) uses protein with specificity for a growth- associated substance tagged with a radionuclide to deliver cytotoxic radiation to a tumour cell. General action therapy uses radioactive medication to treat cancer consistently, within which the radioactive substance travels through the bloodstream to achieve cells inside the body.

Nuclear medicine imaging uses small amounts of radioactive materials called radiotracers that are typically injected into the blood stream, inhaled or swallowed. The radiotracer travels through the area being examined and gives off energy in the form of gamma rays which are detected by a special camera and a computer to create images of the inside of your body. Nuclear medicine imaging provides unique information that often cannot be obtained using other imaging procedures and offers the potential to identify disease in its earliest stages.

Neuro-oncology is the study of brain and spinal cord neoplasms, many of which are (at least eventually) very dangerous and life-threatening (astrocytoma, glioma, glioblastoma, multiform, ependymoma, pontine glioma, and brain stem tumours are among the many examples of these). Among the malignant brain cancers, gliomas of the brainstem and pons, glioblastoma multiforme, and high-grade (highly anaplastic) astrocytoma are among the worst. In these cases, if untreated lifespan usually amounts to only a few months, and survival with current radiation and chemotherapy treatments may extend that time from around a year to a year and a half, possibly two or more, depending on the patient's condition, immune function, treatments used.

Medical oncology is the analysis of cancer with medicine, made up of chemotherapy, surgical oncology is the surgical aspects of cancer including biopsy, staging, and surgical resection of tumors, and radiation oncology is the analysis of cancer with therapeutic radiation. Medical Oncology is usually works in conjunction with Surgical Oncology or Radiation Oncology to give the best clinical outcomes. We determine the right treatment plan for each individual based on various factors as stage of cancer, extent of the damage, other medical conditions, and location within the body. These treatment plans contain any combination of the following: Chemotherapy, Radiation Therapy and Surgery.

Hematologic cancers affect the production and function of ones’ blood cells. Most of these cancers originate in the bone marrow where blood is produced. Stem cells in the bone marrow mature and develop into three types of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets. In most blood cancers, the normal blood cell development process is interrupted by uncontrolled growth of an abnormal type of blood cell. These abnormal blood cells, or cancerous cells, prevent the blood from performing many of its functions, like fighting off infections or preventing serious bleeding.

Head and Neck cancers usually begin in the squamous cells that line the moist, mucosal surfaces inside the head and neck (for example, inside the mouth, the nose, and the throat). These squamous cell cancers are often referred to as squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck. Head and neck cancers can also develop in the salivary glands, but salivary gland cancers are relatively uncommon. Salivary glands contain different types of cells that can become cancerous, so there are many different types of salivary gland cancer. Cancers of the head and neck are further categorized by the area of the head or neck in which they begin from Oral cavity, Pharynx, Larynx, Para-nasal sinuses and Nasal cavity, Salivary glands.

Gastro-Intestinal (GI) Cancer is a term for the group of cancers that affect the digestive system. The known risk factors for gastrointestinal cancers currently include smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity, asbestos etc. This includes cancers of the Esophagus, Gall bladder, Liver, Pancreas, Stomach, Small intestine, Bowel (large intestine or Colon and Rectum), and Anus.

An endocrine tumor is a growth that affects the parts of the body that secrete hormones. Because an endocrine tumor arises from cells that produce hormones, the tumor itself can produce hormones. These hormones are produced in excessive amounts by endocrine tumors and then released into the blood. The excessive amounts of hormones in the blood produce marked abnormal effects on the body. A neuroendocrine tumor begins in the area showing combination of hormone-producing endocrine cells and nerve cells. Neuroendocrine cells are found throughout the body in organs such as the lungs and gastrointestinal tract, including the stomach and intestines. Neuroendocrine cells perform specific functions, such as regulating air and blood flow through the lungs and controlling how quickly food moves through the gastrointestinal tract. They are other types of tumors in endocrine and neuroendocrine tumors.

Targeted therapies act by blocking essential biochemical pathways or mutant proteins that are required for tumour cell growth and survival. These drugs can arrest tumour progression and induce striking regressions in molecularly defined subsets of patients. Indeed, the first small molecule targeted agent, the BCR-ABL kinase inhibitor imatinib, rapidly induced complete cytogenetic responses in 76% of chronic myelogenous leukaemia patients. Further research into the underlying genetic pathways driving tumour proliferation uncovered additional oncoproteins that are critical for tumour maintenance, such as the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), BRAF, KIT, HER (also known as neu and ERBB) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK). Similar to imatinib, small molecule inhibitors of these kinases have effectuated impressive tumour responses in selected patients, although regressions are commonly followed by the development of progressive disease due to the emergence of drug-resistant variants. Resistance usually involves secondary mutations within the targeted protein or compensatory changes within the targeted pathway that bypass the drug-mediated inhibition. Accordingly, targeted therapies may elicit dramatic tumour regressions, but persistence is generally short-lived, limiting the overall clinical benefit.

Cardio-oncology is the intersection of heart conditions in patients who have been treated for cancer. Cardiologists can assess patients for potential risk of developing heart conditions if patients take certain types of cancer drugs, or following radiation treatment to the chest. They also help oncologists protect their patients during treatment by closely watching the heart and recognizing heart trouble early in treatment.

Doctors and scientists are always looking for better ways to treat patients with a tumour. To make scientific advances, doctors create research studies involving volunteers, called clinical trials. Many clinical trials are focused on new treatments, evaluating whether a new treatment is safe, effective, and possibly better than the current (standard) treatment. These types of studies evaluate new drugs, different combinations of existing treatments, new approaches in radiation therapy or surgery, and new methods of treatment. Patients who participate in clinical trials are often among the first to receive new treatments before they are widely available. However, there is no guarantee that the new treatment will be safe, effective, or better than a standard treatment. There are also clinical trials that study new ways to ease symptoms and side effects during treatment and managing the late effects that may occur after treatment. 

The genetic changes that contribute to cancer tend to affect three main types of genes - proto-oncogenes, tumour suppressor genes, and DNA repair genes. These changes are sometimes called “drivers” of cancer. Proto-oncogenes are involved in normal cell growth and division. However, when these genes are altered in certain ways or are more active than normal, they may become cancer-causing genes (or oncogenes) allowing cells to grow and survive when they should not. Tumor suppressor genes are also involved in controlling cell growth and division. Cells with certain alterations in tumor suppressor genes may divide in an uncontrolled manner. DNA repair genes are involved in fixing damaged DNA. Cells with mutations in these genes tend to develop additional mutations in other genes. Together, these mutations may cause the cells to become cancerous. The process by which cancer cells spread to other parts of the body is called metastasis. Metastatic cancer spreads from the part of the body   where it originated (the primary site) to other parts of the body. A risk factor is anything that increases a person’s chances of developing a Tumor. Although factors often influence the development of a tumor, most do not directly cause it. Some people with several risk factors never develop a tumor, while others with no known risk factors do. Some risk factors are as Age, Gender, Race/Ethnicity, Family history, Immune system suppression, arsenic exposure. Generally, the cause of Cancer is unknown. People who have one of the rare family syndromes have a higher risk of developing Tumors.

In cancer research and medicine, biomarkers are used in three primary ways:

• To help diagnose conditions, as in the case of identifying early-stage cancers (Diagnostic)
• To forecast how aggressive a condition is, as in the case of determining a patient's ability to fare in the absence of treatment (Prognostic)
• To predict how well a patient will respond to treatment (Predictive)

Breast cancer can begin in different areas of the breast; the ducts, the lobules, or in some cases, the tissue in between. In this section, we could include the different types of breast cancer, including non-invasive, invasive, recurrent, and metastatic breast cancers. Breast cancer is a phenomenon that can even occur in men. Breast tissue contains fat and connective tissue, lymph nodes and blood vessels, they are made up of glands called tubules that can produce milk and thin tubes called ducts that carry the milk to the nipple. The most common type of breast Cancer is Ductal Carcinoma. Breast Cancer can also begin in the cells of the lobules in other tissues in the breast.

There is a great deal of research investigating the mechanisms of how drugs are metabolized and absorbed by the body's cells. Growing knowledge in this field provides the foundations for improving the anticancer potential for existing drugs and for developing new 'designer' drugs. Other work includes research into the mechanisms of drug resistance.

Anticancer drug, also called antineoplastic drug, any drug that is effective in the treatment of malignant, or cancerous, disease. There are several major classes of anticancer drugs; these include alkylating agents, antimetabolites, natural products, and hormones. In addition, there are a number of drugs that do not fall within those classes but that demonstrate anticancer activity and thus are used in the treatment of malignant disease. Chemotherapy is the use of anticancer drugs designed to slow or stop the growth of rapidly dividing cancer cells in the body.

Antibody marks the cancer cell and makes it easier for the immune system to find. The monoclonal antibody drug rituximab (Rituxan) attaches to a specific protein (CD20) found only on B cells, one type of white blood cell. Certain types of lymphomas arise from these same B cells. Monoclonal antibodies can also function by attenuating hyperactive growth signals neo angiogenesis. A monoclonal antibody can be conjugated to a radioactive particle that will ensure directed delivery to the cancer cell and slow and long release of the radiation, hence maximizing chances of positive outcome and minimizing non-specific damaging exposure to radiation.

Immunology is the study of the immune system. The immune system is how all animals, including humans, protect themselves against diseases. The study of diseases caused by disorders of the immune system is clinical immunology. The disorders of the immune system fall into two broad categories:  

Immunodeficiency, in this immune system, fails to provide an adequate response.

Autoimmunity, in this immune system, attacks its own host's body.

The response to pathogens is composed by the complex interactions and activities of a large number of diverse cell types involved in the immune response. The innate immune response is the first line of defence and occurs soon after pathogen exposure. It is carried out by phagocytic cells such as neutrophils and macrophages, cytotoxic natural killer (NK) cells, and granulocytes. The subsequent adaptive immune response includes antigen-specific defence mechanisms and may take days to develop. Cell types with critical roles in adaptive immunity are antigen-presenting cells including macrophages and dendritic cells. Antigen-dependent stimulation of various cell types including T cell subsets, B cells, and macrophages all play critical roles in host defence.

Transplantation is an act of transferring cells, tissues, or organ from one site to other. The graft is implanted cell, tissue or organ.development of the field of organ and tissue transplantation has accelerated remarkably since the human major histocompatibility complex (mhc) was discovered in 1967. Matching of donor and recipient for mhc antigens has been shown to have a significant positive effect on graft acceptance. The roles of the different components of the immune system involved in the tolerance or rejection of grafts and in graft-versus-host disease have been clarified. These components include antibodies, antigen presenting cells, helper and cytotoxic t cell subsets, immune cell surface molecules, signalling mechanisms and cytokines that they release. The development of pharmacologic and biological agents that interfere with the alloimmune response and graft rejection has had a crucial role in the success of organ transplantation. Combinations of these agents work synergistically, leading to lower doses of immunosuppressive drugs and reduced toxicity. Significant numbers of successful solid organ transplants include those of the kidneys, liver, heart and lung.

Immunology is the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and disease; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders (autoimmune diseases, hypersensitivities, immune deficiency, transplant rejection); the physical, chemical and physiological characteristics of the components of the immune system in vitro, in situ, and in vivo.

Viruses are strongly immunogenic and induce 2 types of immune responses; humoral and cellular. The repertoire of specificities of T and B cells are formed by rearrangements and somatic mutations. T and B cells do not generally recognize the same epitopes present on the same virus. B cells see the free unaltered proteins in their native 3-D conformation whereas T cells usually see the Ag in a denatured form in conjunction with MHC molecules. The characteristics of the immune reaction to the same virus may differ in different individuals depending on their genetic constitutions.

Immunology is the study of the immune system, which is responsible for protecting the body from foreign cells such as viruses, bacteria and parasites. Immune system cells called T and B lymphocytes identify and destroy these invaders. The lymphocytes usually recognize and ignore the body’s own tissue (a condition called immunological self-tolerance), but certain autoimmune disorders trigger a malfunction in the immune response causing an attack on the body’s own cells due to a loss of immune tolerance.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas. This attack begins years before type 1 diabetes becomes evident, so by the time someone is diagnosed, extensive damage has already been done and the ability to produce insulin is lost.

The immune system is the collection of cells, tissues and molecules that protect the body from numerous pathogenic microbes and toxins in our environment. This defence against microbes has been divided into two general types of reactions: reactions of innate immunity and reactions of adaptive immunity. Thus, innate and adaptive immunity can be thought of as two equally important aspects of the immune system. As you will see, each aspect differs with respect to how quickly it responds and for how long it responds to pathogens, its central effector cell types and its specificity for different classes of microbes. As its name suggests, the innate immune system consists of cells and proteins that are always present and ready to mobilize and fight microbes at the site of infection. It thus provides an immediate response to the foreign invader. The main components of the innate immune system are 1) physical epithelial barriers, 2) phagocytic leukocytes, 3) dendritic cells, 4) a special type of lymphocyte called a natural killer (NK) cell, and 5) circulating plasma proteins.

Food allergies are increasing in prevalence at a higher rate than can be explained by genetic factors, suggesting a role for as yet unidentified environmental factors. The intestinal epithelium forms the interface between the external environment and the mucosal immune system, and emerging data suggest that the interaction between intestinal epithelial cells and mucosal dendritic cells is of particular importance in determining the outcome of immune responses to dietary antigens. Exposure to food allergens through non-oral routes, in particular through the skin, is increasingly recognized as a potentially important factor in the increasing rate of food allergy. There are many open questions on the role of environmental factors, such as dietary factors and microbiota, in the development of food allergy, but data suggest that both have an important modulatory effect on the mucosal immune system.

Immunogenomics originally was framed by research supporting the hypothesis that cancer mutations generated novel peptides seen as ‘‘non-self’’ by the immune system. ‘Neoantigens’ has been facilitated by the combination of specialized computational analyses, new sequencing technologies, and HLA binding predictions that evaluate somatic alterations in a cancer genome and interpret their ability to produce an immune-stimulatory peptide. The resulting information can characterize a tumour’s Neoantigens load, its cadre of infiltrating immune cell types, the T or B cell receptor repertoire, and direct the design of a personalized therapeutic.

Immunotoxicology is the investigation of immune dysfunction resulting from exposure of an organism to a xenobiotic. Immunotoxicology is moderately new interdisciplinary logical field concentrated on recognizable proof and investigation of the compound and, in a more extensive sense, additionally physical and organic elements of nature which can bring about undesirable and normally accidental immunomodulation. The immune dysfunction may take the form of immunosuppression, sensitivity, autoimmunity, and incendiary based illnesses. Insusceptible System assumes a basic part in host imperviousness to sickness and additionally in typical homeostasis of a living being; recognizable proof of immunotoxic hazard is huge in the assurance of human, creature and wildlife health. In addition, immunotoxicology likewise researches the properties of new immunotherapeutic pharmacological items arranged by means of recombinant DNA methods (interleukins, interferons, development variables, hostile to irritation drugs, neuroendocrine hormones, neuropeptides with respect to their immunotoxic potential and security of their utilization.

Allergies represent TYPE I responses as per the Gell and Coombs grouping. Most are brought about by IgE ANTIBODIES which are fit for the official to Fc-receptors for IgE on tissue MAST CELLS. Cross-connecting of these layers bound IgE's by particular antigen brings about pole cell DEGRANULATION; this procedure discharges HISTAMINE and an assortment of other effector molecules, which thus brings about the bunch side effects of sensitivity. (rash, feed fever, asthma and so on.) Passive cutaneous hypersensitivity (PCA) in the guinea pig and the Prausnitz-Küstner (P-K) skin response in people give models to understanding the basic component of unfavourably susceptible responses. Administration of sensitivities starts with allergen shirking and incorporates the utilization of an assortment of medications and allergen-particular DESENSITIZATION.

People infected with HIV have a substantially higher risk of some types of cancer compared with uninfected people of the same age. Three of these cancers are known as "acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-defining cancers" or "AIDS-defining malignancies": Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and cervical cancer. A diagnosis of any one of these cancers marks the point at which HIV infection has progressed to AIDS. A compromised immune system can increase a person’s risk for cancer. It can also allow for cancer cells to spread faster than in someone without HIV. With the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART), the rates of AIDS-related cancers have dropped significantly. At the same time, people with HIV are at higher than average risk for several other cancers, including Hodgkin lymphoma and cancers of the anus, lung, liver, and skin, The number of cases of these other cancers is increasing in people with HIV.