Biological therapies for cancer in young people

Biological therapies use substances that your body naturally makes to destroy cancer cells. There are several different types of biological therapies, but the main ones are monoclonal antibodies and interferon. Biological therapy is also known as immunotherapy.

Stephen is waiting to see if he is eligible for a clinical trial using biological therapies.

Age at interview 19

Gender Male

Age at diagnosis 15

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So at the moment yeah, were, were waiting to see if I’m eligible for another for a clinical trial.

So you’re waiting to see whether you’re eligible?

Yeah and if I have this specific mutation then this monoclonal antibody drug it probably, will probably just go for it and try so in terms of how I feel about clinical trials, the efficacy for me might not be huge, the chances it will actually do something is very slim. With this one it’s a bit higher because theres a proposed mechanism of why I might interact well so I’ll probably give it a go. But if it doesn’t work for me theres a feeling, well the fact that you help patients in the future is important so I’m happy to help.

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We have not been able to interview anyone who has had biological therapies for teenage cancers. If you have experience of this treatment and you would like us to include your story on this website, please email info@healthtalkonline.org

We have some experiences of adults who have had biological therapies for cancer that you might find useful:
Breast Cancer
Leukaemia
Lymphoma

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