Immunotherapy

immunotherapy /im·mu·no·ther·a·py/ (-ther´ah-pe) passive immunization of an individual by administration of preformed antibodies (serum or gamma globulin) actively produced in another individual; by extension, the term has come to include the use of immunopotentiators, replacement of immunocompetent lymphoid tissue (e.g., bone marrow or thymus), etc.

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im·mu·no·ther·a·py (my-n-thr-p, -my-)

n.

Treatment of disease by inducing, enhancing, or suppressing an immune response.

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immu·no·thera·peutic (-pytk) adj.

immu·no·thera·pist n.

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Immunotherapy

A form of treatment that uses biologic agents to enhance or stimulate normal immune function.

Mentioned in: Bladder Cancer, Hairy Cell Leukemia, Kidney Cancer, Leukemias, Chronic, Malignant Melanoma

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immunotherapy,

n improving the performance of the body's immune system by using immunization and immune factors. See also isopathy.

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immunotherapy

(im´ūnōther´pē),
n a special treatment of allergic responses that administers increasingly large doses of the offending allergens to gradually develop immunity.

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immunotherapy

passive immunization of an animal by administration of preformed antibodies (serum or gamma globulin) actively produced in another individual; by extension, the term has come to include the use of immunopotentiators, replacement of immunocompetent lymphoid tissue (e.g. bone marrow or thymus), etc. Because the immune response is a process of surveillance, recognition and attack of foreign cells, immunotherapy has emerged as a promising mode of treatment for cancer.

Nonspecific immunotherapy relies on general immune stimulants to activate the whole immune system. In the past decade, immunotherapy against cancer has involved the use of the bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine (see bcg vaccine), which is evolved from strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and is used to provide some immunity to tuberculosis. Recently, interferon has been considered as a good prospect for converting inactive immune cells into active 'natural killers' that attack tumor cells directly. See also hyposensitization.