Immunotherapy, Fatih Uckun, MD

1. Immunotherapy Offers
Significant Benefits for
Some Childhood Leukemia
Patients
By Fatih Uckun, MD

2. Immunotherapy Offers Significant Benefits
for Some Childhood Leukemia Patients
An increasing number of pediatric oncologists prescribe
immunotherapy to augment such treatments for childhood
leukemia as radiation and chemotherapy. Also known as
biologic therapy, immunotherapy activates the body’s
immune system to attack cancer. Some therapies in this
category stimulate the immune system to make it more
efficient in fighting cancer cells, while others involve the
use of man-made proteins that mimic those in the human
immune system.

3. Immunotherapy Offers Significant Benefits
for Some Childhood Leukemia Patients
Immunotherapy traces its roots back to the late 19th
century. At that time, New York surgeon William Coley
recognized an improvement in the condition of some cancer
patients after they acquired certain bacterial infections after
an operation. He invented a regimen in which cancer
patients were contaminated with several strains of bacteria
that gained the name “Coley toxins.” Today, research
indicates that the infections triggered immune reactions
that targeted cancer cells as well as the bacteria.

4. Immunotherapy Offers Significant Benefits
for Some Childhood Leukemia Patients
About Fatih Uckun: A physician with nearly 30 years of
experience, Fatih Uckun researches the cause and
treatment of childhood cancers. He serves as a Professor of
Research in the Department of Pediatrics at the University
of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. For more
information, visit FatihUckun.net.