Has Immunotherapy Really Changed Outcomes in Cancer? A Medical Oncologist's Perspective.
Author: Dr Jinesh Singhavi https://www.kimshospitals.com/doctor-profile/dr-jinesh-singhavi-1/ Consultant Medical Oncologist KIMS Hospitals, Thane There are very few moments in medicine that genuinely change how we think about disease. The discovery of antibiotics was one. Organ transplantation was another. I'd go so far as to say that immunotherapy for cancer belongs on that same short list.
For decades, chemotherapy was our main weapon in the treatment of cancer—powerful, but blunt. It attacked every rapidly dividing cell it could find, tumour or otherwise, which is why it caused so many side effects. Immunotherapy works differently. Instead of attacking the cancer directly, it retrains the body's own immune system to do the job. Checkpoint inhibitors, in particular, release the brakes that tumours use to hide from T-cells, allowing the immune system to recognise and destroy cancer cells on its own.
As someone who sees patients with cancer every day in my clinic, I can tell you this isn't just a promising idea on paper. It has genuinely changed outcomes for real people.
Where I've Seen Immunotherapy Change the Story
Metastatic melanoma used to carry a grim prognosis. Today, with checkpoint inhibitors, we're seeing durable, long-term survival in patients where that would once have seemed impossible.
MSI-H/dMMR rectal cancer has been one of the most rewarding areas to watch evolve. Many patients achieve complete responses, and some are even able to avoid surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation altogether—something we simply couldn't offer a decade ago.
PD-L1-high advanced non-small cell lung cancer is another area where immunotherapy, used as first-line treatment in the right patients, has meaningfully extended survival.
It's a pillar, not a replacement.
I want to be clear about one thing: immunotherapy hasn't replaced surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or targeted therapy. It has simply added another powerful pillar to how we treat cancer. The real progress lies in combining these treatments intelligently and in personalising therapy for each patient using biomarkers like PD-L1 expression and MSI status.
This is exactly the kind of individualised, evidence-based approach we follow in our medical oncology and haemato-oncology practice at KIMS Hospitals, Thane—matching the right treatment to the right patient at the right time.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of immunotherapy isn't that it gave us a stronger weapon against cancer. It's that it awakened the strongest army that was within us all along.
If you or a loved one would like to understand your cancer treatment options, including whether immunotherapy may be right for you, book a consultation with our medical oncology team at KIMS Hospitals, Thane.