Many parts and systems of the human body can be impacted by cancer. The system of blood that supplies oxygen and nutrients is one such area. Leukemia is cancer that starts in the tissue that forms blood. Most blood cells are formed in bone marrow called stem cells. Bone marrow is the soft jelly-like substance in the center of bones. Once the cell is mature, it develops into different types of blood cells, each type performs a specific task. These cells include erythrocytes also known as red blood cells and leukocytes also known as white blood cells. Leukocytes are potent infection fighters and they come in the form of B-cells, natural killer cells, helper T-cells, and cytotoxic-T cells. Adoptive cellular therapy is a treatment used to help …show more content…
the immune system fight diseases, such as cancer and infections with certain viruses. The therapy involves the collection of T-cells from a patient with cancer. The T-cells are grown in a laboratory, which increases the number of T-cells that are able to kill cancer cells or fight infections. After a period of time, the T-cells are given back to the patient, which helps their immune system fight the cancer. In a study conducted by researchers in China, scientists have tested clinical trials of Cytokine-induced killer cells for leukemia therapy and have seen successful results. This new form of immunotherapy may help patients in the future. In order to understand the immunotherapy it is important to understand the immune agents and immune cells.
B-cells make antibodies that attack antigens, T cells make cytokines and attack damaged or diseased cells, and natural killer (NK) cells detect and destroy damaged cells. Cytokines are used in immunotherapy to cause cancer cells to die or to stop creating new cells. Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells are a group of natural killer (NK) T-cells that come from a blood cell having a round nucleus; peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). These blood cells are an important element in the immune system to fight infection and adapt to intruders. PBMCs can be extracted and cultured in vitro from patients with cancer. Immune cells identify major histocompatibility complex (MHC) present on infected cell surfaces, generating cytokine release and eventually causing apoptosis. However, CIK cells have the ability to detect infected or malignant cells in the absence of antibodies and MHC, allowing for a quick immune reaction. This characteristic of CIK cells can be useful as therapy for cancer and viral …show more content…
infections. (Chen et al) In a patient who has been diagnosed with leukemia, their bone marrow makes abnormal white blood cells that fail to function properly. Normal blood cells grow and divide, but leukemia cells do not fully develop and multiply, crowding out normal white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. This makes the task of the normal cells difficult to complete. Treatments for leukemia come in many forms but the two main types are chemotherapy and radiation.
Chemotherapy is a method given in which patients are given drugs to kill of cancerous cells. Radiation is another method in which a patient’s body is exposed to high-energy beams to kill cancerous cells. In the study to find an immunotherapy strategy for leukemia, researchers have found that the treatment of leukemia by chemotherapy has achieved success however the issue of minimal residual disease and drug resistance has not been resolved among hematologists. Minimal residual disease is when a small amount of cancer cells remain in the patient during or after treatment when there is no sign of disease. MRD is the major cause of relapse in cancer and leukemia. According to the study, “a high relapse rate due to MRD remains the leading cause of treatment failure and the main cause or mortality.” (Chen et
al) Active immunotherapy attempts to stimulate the immune system by presenting antigens in a way that activates an immune response. Instead of triggering an immune system response, passive immunotherapy provides immediate protection against tumor antigens by directly targeting the disease with the help of immune compounds such as T-cells and antibodies that attack the cancer. CIK cells are high in demand in the area of leukemia immunotherapy. The major challenge currently facing the field is to increase the specificity of engineered T-cells for tumors. Once tumors have become detectable, they have already evolved mechanisms to dodge the immune response attached by the host, which must be overcome to create effective and durable anti-tumor immunity. Therefore, the goal of adoptive immune cell therapy is to obtain enough expansion of the special localization of effector cells. The combination of passive and active immunotherapy is an improved hypothesis for increasing the efficacy of immunotherapy.
The Hematologic System is regarded as the body’s system that regulates the movement of nutrients, molecules (macro and micro molecules), and oxygen to tissues and metabolic waste products and carbon dioxide out of the tissues (Colbert, 2009). The overall role of the hematologic system is to deliver substances needed for cellular metabolism, temperature regulation, defend the body from injury and microbial infections, and maintain the homeostatic balance or acid-base chemistry of the blood and fluid-electrolyte balance. The Hematologic System is principally made up of the blood, blood vessels, and primary organs that manufacture blood cells such as the bone marrow, spleen, lymph nodes, liver, and thymus gland (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2009). Blood is made up of three distinct components: red blood cells, white blood cells, and plasma, and its role is to transport necessary substances for metabolism (nutrients, hormones and oxygen) to cells and to remove metabolic waste products and carbon dioxide, regulation of body temperature and fluid balance, and protect the body from infections. Blood vessels simply aid the transportation of blood throughout the body, simply in and out of the heart. Spleen on its part is the largest lymphatic organ and functions as the blood filtration system and reservoir, site for fetal hematopoiesis, and mounts immune responses that act against invading infections. Bone marrow is another important component of the hematologic system, and its role is to synthesize new blood cells (Red blood cells white blood cells, and platelets) that constitute a healthy blood count while the liver functions by detoxifying the blood (Colbert, 2009).
Disease can damage blood marrow and tissue. In order to repair this damage, doctors can transplant the stem cells described above into the patient in need. There are a few different names for this kind of transplant procedure. They are: bone marrow transplant, a peripheral blood stem cell transplant, and a cord blood transplant (American Cancer Society, 2013). The process of transplanting these hematopoietic stem cells involves a number of complex steps. The first step involves the patient receiving chemotherapy and/or radiation, which kill the diseased cells. This “conditions” the area (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 2014). Next, healthy stem cells are infused into this conditioned area. “These transplanted stem cells will begin to grow and produce healthy red and white blood cells and platelets” (Dana-Farber Can...
Chemotherapy is the treatment of a tumor with chemical agents to reduce mass or eradicate a tumor completely. There are certain mechanisms by which chemotherapy inhibits cancer. The first mechanism is cell death by cytotoxicity. Some chemical agents in certain amounts are toxic to cells. The cells die due to the toxic...
There are essentially three main types of cancer treatments; surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Surgery allows doctors to effectively remove tumors from a clear plane. Chemotherapy uses drugs to treat the tumor; but often the drugs affect other healthy cells in the process. Using radiation as a treatment can be either precise or vague. Many health stigmas can come from the vague forms of radiation or conventional radiation therapy. Conventional radiation treats both the unhealthy and healthy cells, therefore exposing healthy cells to harmful radiation (Radiation Oncology, 2011, p.6). When healthy cells are exposed to gamma radiation they are also exposed to ionizing radiation. The ionization can cause “breakage of chemical bonds or oxidization (addition of oxygen atoms)” in a cell; the main impact of this is on a cell’s DNA, if two strands of DNA break it can result in “mutations, chromosome aberrations, ...
For cancer patients there are several treatment options. Surgery can remove cancerous tumors, chemotherapy uses drugs for treatment, and radiation therapy. The doctor in charge of the patient’s treatment may also choose to use radiation therapy. “Radiation
T cells assist B cells to rid foreign cells, and turn into memory cells (Joanne M. Willey, 2014). The T-Helper cell dictates growth and variation factors (Joanne M. Willey, 2014). This decides whether you will have a strong or weak immune system (Joanne M. Willey, 2014). The cytotoxic cells are accountable for lytic enzymes and proteins (Joanne M. Willey, 2014). They kill or change injected cells (Joanne M. Willey, 2014). The suppressor cells are also known as 911 and relay a rapid response to reinfection with the same cell (Joanne M. Willey,
However, it is only a certain kind of white blood cell that comes out in the non specific response, and it is called a phagocyte - meaning 'cells that eat'. In a process known as phagocytosis, phagocytes can envelope any kind of pathogen within the body and, whilst the pathogen is inside the phagocyte, it can destroy it.
However, the inflammatory process can also contribute to the elimination of tumor cells. Tumor cells produce antigens that can be recognized by either specific immunity, or by innate immunity via natural killer (NK) cells (5).
When a cell in our body has become infected or has become cancerous it’s surface changes. This is how the immune system can tell good cells from bad ones (the markings on the surface.) Once a bad cell has been recognized our bodies sends cells to destroy the damaged cell and prevent the spread of whatever caused the damage in the first place. The next step our body takes is to have the affected cells start to produce interferons and other helpful substances. These help to fight off unwanted organisms, and also to warn other cells of the invaders and prepare them to resist them therefore preventing the spread of disease.
The body has two different responses to foreign invasions. The Humoral or antibody immune response uses the b cells to seek out the invader in the lymph or blood. The specific antigen will attach itself to the b cell and create plasma that contains the specific antibodies for the antigen or pathogen. The b cell will continue to create antibodies for the specific antigen or pathogen forever. A cell mediated response is one that involves mostly the T cell to seek out any foreign cell in the body and kill it. Includes cancers, tumors, and transplanted cells.
Since conventional chemotherapeutic drugs target and kill dividing cells, the side effects of chemotherapy involve healthy body tissues where cells are constantly growing and dividing, such as hair, bone marrow, skin, etc. Normal cells can still replace the dead cells or repair the healthy cells that are damaged by chemotherapy once treatment ceases. The CD20 receptor is only expressed by normal B cells but is absent on other normal cell types, such as precursor B cells, dendritic cells, and plasma cells, in a healthy individual. More importantly, 95% of B-cell NHLs and other B-cell malignancies also express CD-20, which makes it an ideal therapeutic target.6 CD-20 antibodies only target cells where the CD-20 receptor is expressed, i.e., solely B-cells. Therefore, the classic side effects of chemotherapy are avoided with rituximab. Interestingly, the biological function of CD20 is still unclear, although some evidence suggests a role in Ca2+ ion influx and homeostasis.7 CD20 has no known natural ligand, and CD20 mutant mice have a nearly normal phenotype.8 Once bound to B cells, rituximab induces lysis through several possible mechanisms: induced apoptosis (programmed cell death),
Lymphoma refers to a blood cancer form that result from a faster than normal division of T or B lymphocytes; the condition also occurs when these cells live for a longer than the normal (Pace, Cassio & Glass, 2007). Organs in which the disease may develop include spleen, lymph nodes, bone marrow, alongside others. Ideally, this disease is a presentation of a lymphoid cells’ solid tumor. The disease’s treatment could entail chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and transplantation of bone marrow. Scientists state that the disease can be cured and that the cure depends on factors like its stage, histology, and type. Malignant cells have lymph nodes as their origin and resemble the node’s enlargement. There are also some extranodal sites of origin which include skin, bone, bowels, tonsils, and brain. There is close relationship between lymphomas and lymphoid leukemias whose sites of origin are also lymphocytes; however, the leukemias do not involve static tumors but bone marrows and circulating blood (Pace, Cassio & Glass, 2007).
After being treated with high-dose anticancer drugs and/or radiation, the patient receives the harvested stem cells, which travel to the bone marrow and begin to produce new blood cells. Bone marrow is the soft, sponge-like material found inside bones. It contains immature cells known as hematopoietic or blood-forming stem cells. Bone marrow is the spongy tissue inside some of your bones, such as your hip and thigh bones. It contains immature cells, called stem cells. The stem cells can develop into red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body, white blood cells, which fight infections, and platelets, which help the to blood clot.It is used to treat diseases such as leukemia, anemia, and multiple myeloma.Before you have a transplant, you need to get high doses of chemotherapy and possibly radiation. This destroys the faulty stem cells in your bone marrow. It also suppresses your body's immune system so that it won't attack the new stem cells after the transplant.
Our immune system protects our bodies from pathogens like bacteria and viruses very efficiently in most cases. One big question that has come up is why does the immune system not respond to cancerous cells in the same way? Why are cancer cells not eradicated like other dangerous foreign cells? This seems very strange, especially since the immune system has cells that are specific to destroying cancer cells and virus-infected cells, called natural killer cells. To begin to answer this question it is useful to examine cancer cells and their interactions with the immune system in more detail.
T cells grow and mature in the thymus. They are further divided into killer T cells, which are responsible for killing cells that are infected with viruses or otherwise damaged cells, and helper T cells which help the body decide how to react to a certain pathogen. (livestrong.com) many viruses attach to healthy cells and inject their toxins into the cell. This ultimately alters the DNA in the cell, and every time the cell undergoes mitosis, it will create another infected cell. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes are specially structured cells that recognize fragments of viruses and eliminate them. Both Cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer T cells contain granules filled with potent chemicals. Cytotoxic t lymphocytes are look for self-MHC molecules, which are a signal of infection or defect, but natural killer cells do not. This means that natural killer cells have the potential to kill a variety of cells. (naiad.gov). T cell receptors are protein molecules that are designed to recognize self-MHC molecules, essentially telling the T cells where to go and what to attack.