Dendritic cell therapy is considered one of the most promising methods of personalized cancer treatment. Currently, according to the Global Dendritic Cell Cancer Vaccine Market Dosage Price & Clinical Trials Outlook 2024 report, more than 60 studies are underway to assess their efficacy in various cancer types. So far, this innovative technique is not used everywhere, but patients visit developed countries to have the full benefits of dendritic cell vaccines. You can undergo cancer dendritic therapy in Germany by making an appointment for treatment through Booking Health.
What DCs are and how they are used
DCs are a type of immune cell whose job is to present antigens to T-cells. They tell cellular immunity which targets to attack. DCs are the first to encounter an antigen, capture the molecule, break it into small pieces, and show these fragments to T-cells, after which an immune response is triggered. Also, DCs activate NK cells to control pathogens through the innate immune system and activate the adaptive immune system to enable immune memory.
The idea of DC cancer treatment is to take blood cells, usually monocytes, turn them into DCs and add tumor antigens to them. These DCs are now able to recognize the tumor and pass this data on to T-cells. DCs are injected into the body, usually subcutaneously. In the lymphatic system, they meet other immune cells and show them the antigen. The T-cells now know how to recognize the tumor and attack it more effectively.
A patient’s blood is required to manufacture a dendritic cell vaccine. It is also desirable to use the patient’s own tumor antigens. The biomaterial is obtained after removal of the neoplasm by surgery or biopsy. Some vaccines use standard tumor antigens.
Types and stages of cancer that can be treated with DCs
In recent years, many studies have been conducted to investigate DC vaccination in the treatment of hematologic malignancies, including acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes, glioblastoma, colon, breast, cervical and other cancers. Two DC-based vaccines have already been approved in developed countries: for melanoma and prostate cancer. Many other vaccines are still under investigation, showing encouraging results in clinical trials.
In the top cancer clinics in Germany, DCs are already used for many oncopathologies. Advanced dendritic treatments provide good results at almost all cancer stages, but they are most commonly used:
- At stages II-III to reduce the risk of recurrence after surgery or radical chemoradiation therapy
- At stage IV to increase the effectiveness of cancer treatment or as an alternative therapeutic option in case of ineffectiveness of standard regimens
Although DCs can be used as a stand-alone method, they are usually combined with other treatments: radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, etc. to achieve better results. In addition, this innovative cancer treatment method has been successfully combined with other immune therapies for cancer such as immune response checkpoint inhibitors and oncolytic viruses.
Advantages of DCs in cancer treatment
DC is one of the latest cancer treatments that has many advantages:
- Selective influence on cancer cells
- High safety of treatment: severe toxic reactions are practically absent
- Personalized treatment: the vaccine is made for a specific patient, from his own blood, and his own tumor antigens, which ensures high efficiency of treatment
- Excellent tolerability
- Concomitability with any other methods of cancer treatment, including chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, and other types of immunotherapy
- When included in a standard treatment regimen, DCs do not increase the risk of side effects
- Treatment is short and non-traumatic, the person does not need to stay in the hospital long
If you want to have the advantages of German cancer care, visit the Booking Health website. Here you can find prices for medical services in German clinics, compare costs, and book treatment on convenient dates. Booking Health employees will help you find a suitable medical center specializing in dendritic cell therapy and organize your trip. You will be free from organizational worries and will be able to fully concentrate on restoring your health.
