What best describes immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy is best described as a therapy that activates or restores the immune system to control cancer. This approach harnesses the body's own immune system to recognize and combat cancer cells, thereby enhancing the body’s natural ability to fight against malignancies. Unlike traditional treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation, which directly target and kill cancer cells, immunotherapy focuses on modulating the immune response, often leading to long-lasting effects even after the treatment has concluded.

The significant aspect of immunotherapy is its ability to leverage specific mechanisms within the immune system, such as checkpoint inhibitors, CAR T-cell therapy, and monoclonal antibodies, to improve the immune response against tumors. This can lead to more targeted attacks on cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy tissues.

Surgical removal of tumors is a distinct treatment approach that physically removes the cancerous tissue but does not involve the immune system's activation. Radiation-based therapies, while effective for localized cancer, work by causing damage to cancer cells through localized high-energy beams and do not engage the immune system in the same direct manner as immunotherapy. Similarly, chemotherapy primarily targets rapidly dividing cancer cells, focusing on cellular mechanisms rather than the immune system itself.