“Even if cytotoxic chemical anticancer drugs (1st generation) or targeted anticancer drugs (2nd generation) are effective, smart cancer cells evolve and develop resistance. That is why the risk of losing the battle once morest cancer was high. However, the third-generation immunotherapy was different. It does not target the cancer itself, but rather the immune system that was not functioning properly in our body. Although cancer easily develops resistance to certain drugs, it is difficult to develop resistance to an activated immune system. Patients who are effective in immunotherapy can expect not only long-term survival, but also full recovery, even if they are terminal cancer patients.”
Jeon Hong-jae, a professor at CHA Bundang Hospital, published a book titled “Understanding Immune Cancer” to convey the voice of “hope” in an easy-to-understand language. There are several successful cases of treatment that Professor Jeon has experienced. A man in his late 30s, who was a terminally ill patient with liver cancer, did not see much effect even with targeted chemotherapy. Liver cancer grew and spread. Then he started treatment with immunotherapy (Opdivo). The results were surprising. After 3 months of treatment, the cancer was almost gone. He successfully completed treatment with no recurrence of cancer for more than two years.