The larger pale cell visible in these images is a white blood cell, while the smaller disc-shaped cells around it are red blood cells that carry oxygen.

The surface of a white blood cell is covered in receptor proteins that act like locks, recognizing antigens from bacteria and viruses as keys that signal a threat.

Chemical gradients released by infected tissue guide the cell directly toward the source of trouble, a process called chemotaxis. Once it reaches a target, cells like neutrophils and macrophages engulf the threat and destroy it using toxic enzymes.

This continuous movement is called immune surveillance, and it runs nonstop throughout the body. The same system that catches bacterial infections also scans for abnormal cells, including early stage cancer cells. It is one of the most efficient defense networks in biology.

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/white-blood-cell-against-cancer-cell/feed/ 0 https://headandnecknetwork.com/mrna-cancer-vaccines/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/mrna-cancer-vaccines/#respond Wed, 25 Feb 2026 11:41:43 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=1966 Personalised mRNA cancer vaccines are still in development. They are designed to teach and activate the body’s immune system to recognise, hunt down and attack cancer cells. 

Cancer vaccines are a class of immunotherapy that is still in development. No cancer vaccines are currently licenced for use in standard cancer care – patients can only access them through clinical trials. 

Unlike traditional vaccines (such as for flu or COVID-19), cancer vaccines are not designed to prevent the disease. They are being designed and tested as a potential new way to treat cancer.

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/mrna-cancer-vaccines/feed/ 0 https://headandnecknetwork.com/immune-checkpoint-inhibitors-3rd-type-of-immunotherapy/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/immune-checkpoint-inhibitors-3rd-type-of-immunotherapy/#respond Thu, 06 Nov 2025 09:01:17 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=1796 IMMUNE CHECKPOINT INHIBITORS – 3RD TYPE OF IMMUNOTHERAPY

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are a third type of immunotherapy (for other types search in the news ⬇️)

Immune checkpoints on cell surfaces help control an immune response.

Usually, immune checkpoints keep T cells inactive, that is,

in an off state, until they’re needed.

This keeps the T cells from harming normal cells.

Cancer cells can take advantage of these checkpoints to switch T cells off.

This keeps the cancer cells from being killed.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are drugs that block the checkpoints.

This frees the T cells to attack the cancer.

These three types of immunotherapy are effective ways to treat cancer, but they don’t work

for every patient and can cause serious side effects.

Source: National Cancer Institute

Artwork and animation by Terese Winslow, LLC and Devon Medical Art, LLC

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/immune-checkpoint-inhibitors-3rd-type-of-immunotherapy/feed/ 0 https://headandnecknetwork.com/t-cell-transfer-therapy-2nd-type-of-immunotherapy/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/t-cell-transfer-therapy-2nd-type-of-immunotherapy/#respond Thu, 30 Oct 2025 09:20:32 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=1772 T CELL TRANSFER THERAPY – 2ND TYPE OF IMMUNOTHERAPY

T cell transfer therapy is another type of immunotherapy (for the 1st type – Nonspecific immune stimulation – search ⬇️)

T cells are a type of immune cell and are powerful weapons the immune system uses to fight cancer.

For T cell transfer therapy, T cells are taken from a patient and changed in the laboratory to make them better able to target the patient’s cancer cells and kill them.

Millions of copies of these specially changed T cells are then grown in the laboratory and given back to the patient to fight the cancer.

Source: National Cancer Institute

Artwork and animation by Terese Winslow, LLC and Devon Medical Art, LLC

Nonspecific immune stimulation is a type of immunotherapy that stimulates a patient’s immune response in a general way.

In non-specific immune stimulation, drugs or other substances are used

to increase the overall immune response, which can help kill cancer cells.

For example, some patients who have had surgery to remove bladder cancer may also be treated with a substance called BCG.

When BCG is put into the bladder, it can cause a non-specific immune response that kills cancer cells that remain in the bladder after surgery.

This may keep the cancer from getting worse or coming back.

Source: National Cancer Institute

Artwork and animation by Terese Winslow, LLC and Devon Medical Art, LLC

#Immunotherapy is an exciting area of cancer research that is changing the way we think about cancer treatment.

Immunotherapy works by using the body’s immune system to fight cancer.

This video describes how it works

and the three types of immunotherapy that are used

to treat:

1. nonspecific immune stimulation,
2. t cell transfer therapy
3. immune checkpoint inhibitors.

In the next reels we will see how the three types of immunotherapy work

Source: National Cancer Institute

Artwork and animation by Terese Winslow, LLC and Devon Medical Art, LLC

#headandneckcancer #headandnecknetwork #immunesystem #cancerfight

#Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a highly regulated process that eliminates cells with critical damage that could not be repaired.

Once apoptosis is activated by either immune cells or the protein p53, the damaged cell shrinks and generates apoptotic cell debris, known as apoptotic bodies. These apoptotic bodies are phagocytized by tissue-resident macrophages to prevent an immune response from being triggered.

• Apoptosis is crucial for cancer prevention because it eliminates cells with potentially dangerous mutations and damaged DNA before they can become cancerous. 
• The ability to evade apoptosis is a fundamental characteristic of cancer, allowing abnormal cells to survive and grow into tumors.
• Cancer cells often develop resistance to apoptosis, which contributes to treatment failure and disease relapse. 

Credit video: sciencestanding

Source: Helixanimation on Instagram