With cancer, cells of the immune system are inactive (asleep), allowing the tumor to grow. Immunotherapy activates these cells to destroy cancer.

One type uses cells of the immune system, which are taken out of the patient's blood and manipulated in the laboratory. Once the cells have obtained cancer-killing ability, they are given back to the patient to destroy their cancer.

~Immunotherapy has been effective against two types of cancer that were previously unresponsive to other treatments - melanoma (skin cancer) and renal cell (kidney) cancer. Today, immunotherapy is being used together with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy to treat many types of cancer.