Inhibitors of immune control points

What is an immune control point?

Your immune system is designed to attack things that do not belong to your body. But, sometimes, when your immune system is trying to locate foreign cells, it has such a strong reaction that it also eliminates healthy cells.

The immune control points are something like natural “brakes” that are useful to control the immune system. They serve to activate and deactivate the immune reaction as necessary, so that your body does not attack itself randomly.

How do immune checkpoint inhibitors work?

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are useful for the immune system to remain active so that it can combat cancer cells more effectively.

Some cancer cells use special proteins to pressurize the “brakes” of the immune system. Cuando estas proteins de las cancerous cells se conectan conciertas proteins de cells munitarias, el sistema immunitario se deactivativa. This prevents immune cells from attacking cancer cells and allows cancer to propagate and spread.

The immune control points inhibitors block this connection. When the “brakes” cannot be activated, the immune system remains alert and can attack cancer cells.

Most immune checkpoint inhibitors are provided as liquid infusions through a vein. Some are administered as an injection under the skin. A típica infusion session lasts about 30 to 60 minutes, but it is probably necessary to vary the duration infusion sessions and transfer to the tratami.

What are the different types of immune checkpoint inhibitors?

There are several types of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Each one locates a different “deactivation button” of the immune system.

PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors: T cells, also known as immune cells, have a protein called PD-1 that is useful to prevent them from attacking healthy cells. Healthy cells have a complementary protein called PD-L1. When PD-1 and PD-L1 connect, the immune reaction is deactivated.

Some cancer cells also have PD-L1 proteins that trick the immune system to deactivate, allowing cancer cells to propagate. The inhibitors of PD-1 and PD-L1 block this connection, preventing the cancer cells from activating the immune response so that the T lymphocytes continue to fight the cancer.

CTLA-4 inhibitors: PD-1, CTLA-4 is the protein protection that blocks the rebuilding, independence system function. CTLA-4 inhibitors block this switch, preventing the control point from being deactivated so that the T lymphocytes continue to fight cancer. This type of frequency blocker results in the inhibition of PD-1 and PD-L1 for cancer.

LAG-3 inhibitors: LAG-3 is a protein from checkpoints from various types of immune cells, including T cells. It also functions as a deactivation button to prevent the immune system from attacking healthy cells. LAG-3 inhibitors prevent checkpoints from being deactivated in the immune system so that immune cells continue to attack cancer cells. The actual, this is the type of inhibitor (denominado relatlimab) that the PD-1 inhibitor designation of nivolumab for trawl melanomas. Los Investigators are studying if they can be useful to treat other cancers too.

What are the typical collateral effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors?

Puesto que los inhibitores de puntos de control munitarios activan el sistema munitario, a veces pueden causar inflammato en casi cualquier organo. Estos problemas se denomin eventos adversos immuno-relacionados (EAIR).

Pueden variar desde asuntos moderados, tales como sarpullido o febre, a problemas more graves, tales como inflammation del estámoga y los intestines o, en casos infrecuentes, del corazón. The majority of side effects are moderate, but serious and even fatal reactions can occur, so it is important to report any new symptom to your care team immediately.

The most common side effects of an immune checkpoint inhibitor are rash, diarrhea, fatigue and thyroid complications, but all types of side effects can be caused by inflammation. Estos collateral effects could include:

• Rash, itching, cambios del color de la piel: skin toxicity (dermatitis)
• Difficulty breathing: lung inflammation (pneumonitis)
• Dolor de pecho: inflammation of the coronary (myocarditis) or inflammation of the lining alrededor del corazón (pericarditis)
• Nausea, diarrhea or stomach irritation: inflammation of the bowel (gastritis or colitis)
• Hepatitis: inflammation of the patient
• Diabetes nueva: inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis) caused by insulin production
• Thyroid problems: hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism (thyroiditis)
• Hippophysitis: inflammation of the hippocampus, local hormonal hormones
• Nephritis: inflammation of the flowers
• Debilidad o entumecimiento muscular: inflammation of nerves or muscles (neuropathy or myositis)

How are immune checkpoint inhibitors used to treat cancer?

Since the first inhibitor of immune control points was approved in 2011, these medications have become an important part of treatment against cancer. Really, 100 Christmas measures for various suspension measures to control different. They are used to treat many types of cancer, including cancers of the breast, lung, stomach, skin, kidney and blood, among others.

Estos medicamentos se usaron por primera vez mainly para metastásicos cánceres, lo que significa que el cáncer se ha se semina en otras partes del cuerpo. With time, research has shown that they can also be useful in earlier stages of these disorders. Now, immune checkpoint inhibitors are used as:

• Adjuvant treatment: which is administered after a surgery to reduce the chances of cancer recurrence
• Presurgical treatment: that is administered before a surgery to shrink the tumor and improve the clinical outcome

The recommendation of an immune checkpoint inhibitor, on the part of your medical team, depends on many factors, including the type of cancer you have, how advanced it is, what treatments you have had and your general health.

Puesto que estos medicamentos activate the immune system, it is very important to pay attention to any new symptom or change during the treatment. Detectar los efectos collaterales en forma temprana será útil para que tu equipo de atención los trate rapidamente para evitar problemas más tafus.

Learning to recognize these symptoms and inform your care team immediately is a key part of your security while receiving immunotherapy.