Immunotherapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract

Cancer is a disease where cells mutate and grow uncontrollably. These cancer cells can even spread to new parts of the body. The immune system, a network of cells, tissues, and organs, fights against infections to protect healthy cells. Ideally, the immune system is supposed to recognize cancer cells as harmful and eliminate them to prevent the cancer from spreading. However, cancer cells can sometimes evade the immune system by hiding, suppressing immune responses, or mimicking normal cells by altering the expression of certain proteins on their surface. Immunotherapy is a type of treatment that utilizes the immune system to fight cancer. Rather than targeting all cells indiscriminately, as traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation often do, immunotherapy strengthens your immune system to better recognize and terminate cancer cells. This unique approach makes immunotherapy an attractive option to overcome cancer’s ability to evade immune responses. This review examines current immunotherapy treatments and future directions for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment.