Biologic (also called biological) therapy for cancer uses materials made by the human body or made by cells grown in a laboratory to achieve one or more of the following functions:
• Fight cancer. Biological therapies that contain components of the immune system are called immunotherapeutics. Because Herceptin is an monoclonal antibody (a special, pure type of antibody) produced by cells grown in a laboratory, Herceptin is an example of an immunotherapeutic.
Other types of biologic therapy are called biological response modifier (BRM) therapy. Currently, BRM therapeutics are being studied in clinical trials.
• Boost, direct, or restore the body’s natural defenses against cancer. Biological therapies that affect the immune system are called immunotherapies.
• Help maintain or restore a normal quantity of healthy cells in the blood and bone marrow, as certain kinds of blood cells are vulnerable to side effects of some types of cancer therapy.
Neulasta (generic name, pegfiligrastim) is a biological therapeutic that helps prevent a decrease in the number of white blood cells in cancer patients undergoing certain types of treatment. Procrit (generic name, epoetin alfa) is a biological therapeutic that helps restore healthy levels of red blood cells in cancer patients with anemia. |
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