As the world we live in is constantly changing and the style of living has drastically gotten more dynamic and fast-paced than before, there has been a strong need for diverse forms of cancer treatment that are targeted and cater to a patient’s needs. In light of such a demand, immunotherapy has seen a considerable surge over the last few years due to its ability to not only inflict negligible and manageable side effects on patients but also prolong and enhance the quality of one’s life. Among the various types of immunotherapy that are readily available at our disposal, dendritic cell-based therapy is one of those lines of treatment that uses a targeted approach and relies heavily on precision medicine methods. Denvax, one of India’s leading cancer immunotherapy institutes, employs dendritic cell-based therapy as a customized approach to minimize the progression of cancer and completely cure it in certain cases. Before we get into how Denvax provides this service to its patients, it is imperative that we understand what dendritic cells really are.
What are dendritic cells?
Dendritic cells are a special type of antigen-presenting cell (APC) that play an integral role in our adaptive immune system. The name of these cells also has a special meaning since, during their development, they form branched projections called dendrites. This is done to maximize their surface area and widen their exposure to antigens. They are also important in maintaining the immune memory of B cells. These cells are found in tissues that come into close contact with the outside environment, such as the skin, the lining of the nose, stomachs, and lungs. Though they were first found in the spleen by Ralph Steinman in the 1970s, it was eventually found out that these cells are present in all lymphoid as well as most non-lymphoid tissues.
How does Denvax work?
The first step of the process of curating a personalized medicine for a patient would entail extracting 120 ml of fresh peripheral blood of the cancer patient. The day the blood is withdrawn is accepted to be the first day of the whole procedure and protocol. After this, the peripheral blood mononuclear cells are separated and isolated. The cells are then imbibed with cytokines and other nutritional substances. These cells then become immature dendritic cells and for their maturation, they are exposed to cancerous antigen. This exposure happens on the 6th day of the protocol. After certain confirmatory tests, the mature dendritic cells are harvested on day 8 and become ready to be administered to the same patient. Denvax is then administered intravenously into the patient as an infusion in 100 ml Dextrose Normal Saline (DNS) in twenty minutes. The biggest advantage that Denvax offers its patients is the fact that it can be administered both in a hospital setting and in the comfort of one’s own home.
Key things to know
Denvax offers various benefits to people and some of them include the following:
- Delays cancer progression and boosts chances of survival: Denvax is a dendritic cell-based therapy that not only delays cancer progression but also enhances one’s chances of survival.
- Reduced chances of a relapse: The biggest benefit that immunotherapy offers to its patients is that it can reduce the chances of relapse after surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. This happens due to the fact that immunotherapy enhances the immune tolerance of the body and educates the immune responses with the aid of immunomemory to take care of these cancer cells if they show their presence ever again.
- It has negligible side effects. Since Denvax only targets the cancer cells of the body and ultimately aims at boosting the immune system, it has negligible side effects, thereby allowing a patient to go about their day without any kind of hindrances.
Final Note
Denvax has proven to be effective against various types of cancer at different stages. It is an adjuvant and additional form of therapy and can work in combination with the standard lines of treatment for cancer. Given its little to very manageable side effects, it has gained widespread popularity as a very feasible option for all kinds of cancers.
