RESE ARCH
Study results show that older adults’ immune systems respond to immunotherapy.
Study Shows Patients Over 80 Benefit from Immunotherapy for Certain Cancers Patients 80 and older who are treated with single-agent immunotherapies for some cancers benefit from these innovative treatments and have somewhat comparable outcomes to younger people who received the same type of treatments for similar cancers, according to a landmark study published today in the journal JAMA Oncology. Abdul Rafeh Naqash, M.D., a clinical trials physician at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, is senior author of the study, which suggests that older adults’ immune systems, when stimulated with immunotherapies, could indeed be up to the challenge of fighting certain types of cancers.
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Immunotherapy drugs are anti-cancer agents that stimulate the body’s immune system to target and control tumors. These agents have shown promise in controlling some tumors more than others and have transformed the treatment landscape of some cancers over the past decade. “Not all patients benefit from immunotherapy, which is why there is a significant need to understand which clinical and biological factors contribute to favorable or unfavorable outcomes for patients with cancer,” said Naqash, an assistant professor in the Section of Hematology/Oncology.
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