What is immunotherapy?

In its simplest terms, immunotherapy is any treatment that enables a subject’s immune system to respond to a disease state in a therapeutic manner. For whatever reason, the body’s immune system may fail to respond to a threat appropriately; in the case of allergies, the body overreacts to an allergen, while – in the case of cancer – the body fails to recognize the cancer cells as a threat, allowing them to persist. In each case, immunotherapy may be employed to redirect the immune system’s activity, either to minimize its response or to boost it. Learn more about immunotherapy in our expanded section.