One of the most promising immunotherapy techniques is the treatment of cancer with dendritic cell vaccines. For some cancers this technique has already been approved, while for most tumors research is still ongoing but showing good results, so approval of new DC-based cancer vaccines is expected in the nearest future. If you are interested in undergoing an immunotherapy procedure or want to clarify the dendritic cell immunotherapy cost, visit Booking Health. You can take advantage of this innovative technique abroad, in one of the developed countries.
As always, seek advice from your GP or medical professional before embarking on any alternative treatment or procedures. Especially those based overseas, or not yet approved in the UK. Undertaking procedures abroad does carry risk, so ensure that you understand the implications – especially in the event that anything goes wrong.
How dendritic cells can help fight cancer
DCs are immune cells that are responsible for presenting antigen to T-cells. Simply put, the job of DCs is to recognize the “enemy” and indicate targets for other immune cells to attack.
Normally, the human immune system destroys abnormal cells that are constantly forming in the body. This is how we protect ourselves against cancer throughout our lives. But when the tumor becomes stronger than the immune system, a disease develops. The problem with oncology is that cancer cells learn to evade the immune attack, including by suppressing the activity of DCs in the body.
But the dendritic cell vaccine immunotherapy solves this problem. Physicians harvest a person’s blood, isolate monocytes from it, turn them into DCs and get them to mature. After processing with tumor antigens, they are returned to the body. The antigens can be standard or isolated from the patient’s tumor.
After the injection, the DCs meet T-cells, show them the antigen, and as a result, an immune response is activated that suppresses not only the primary tumor but also all metastases.
The treatment process is simple and fast. Most of the steps take place in a laboratory, without human involvement. After receiving the cells, you must wait 1 to 3 weeks for the personalized cancer vaccine to be ready and then visit the clinic several times for injections. Hospitalization is not required. The patient is supervised on an outpatient basis after the vaccine is administered. Intervals between injections are several weeks.
Who is a candidate for dendritic cell therapy?
DC-based drugs have already been developed and successfully used in many oncological diseases. The method is most often used for prostate, breast, lung, kidney, colon, and pancreatic cancer, melanoma, mesothelioma, osteosarcoma, and glioblastoma. In some medical fields DCs are already approved, in others they are experimental treatments, but regardless of the status of immunotherapy, you can get this treatment in specialized centers abroad.
The most common application of DC is:
- In the advanced stage of cancer
- In combination with other cancer immunotherapies, usually oncolytic viruses and immune checkpoint inhibitors
- After surgery to remove the tumor
The advantage of DC is that the treatment is non-toxic. It can be combined with any other methods of cancer treatment, complementing their effectiveness, but not worsening the tolerability of treatment and not increasing the risk of complications.
Where is oncology treatment with dendritic cells available?
You can undergo diagnostics and cancer immunotherapy in Germany. Not every medical center offers such services, as dendritic cell vaccines are not yet widely used. This is a new high-tech method of cancer treatment, which is still considered experimental for most oncologic diseases.
But if you do not have time to wait for years for the approval of this method and its widespread implementation, you can use this technique now in specialized medical centers in Germany. You can choose a clinic and find out the prices on the Booking Health website. The employees of Booking Health will consult you on all questions, make an appointment for convenient dates and help you with travel arrangements.
