You might think cryogenics is a futuristic medical idea, and you’re right: cryotherapy, specifically cryoimmunotherapy, might be the future of cancer treatment. Cryogenic cancer treatment is an innovative approach to eliminating cancer cells and getting patients on the path to positive outcomes. Let’s explore what exactly cryogenic treatment is, how it is used with immunotherapy to fight cancer, what benefits it can offer, and how these ideas can work together for a brighter future in the fight against cancer.

What is Cryoimmunotherapy?

Also known as cryoimmunology, cryoimmunotherapy is a cancer treatment that involves combining extreme cold with traditional immunotherapy treatment to destroy cancer cells. This stimulates the body to fight the disease. Using extreme cold to kill cancer tissue is known as cryoablation. Cryoablation itself creates an immune response in the body. However, when combined with an immunotherapy treatment, such as certain drug therapies, the effect is magnified. 

Cryoimmunotherapy is just one type of cryogenic therapy available to patients. While it is specifically suited to fighting cancer, doctors use cryotherapy to treat many ailments. This includes procedures as simple as removing warts to advanced cryosurgery to remove benign bone tumors.

History of Cryoimmunotherapy

While cold has been used for centuries for medical treatments, cryoimmunotherapy has been used since the 1960s, first used to treat advanced breast cancer patients. In its early years, prostate cancer was successfully treated using these procedures. In 1997, a key advancement was made when Russian scientists confirmed that cryoimmunotherapy could be used to successfully treat metastatic cancers.

Though cryoimmunotherapy has a long history, researchers are continuing to improve it. For example, scientists at Northwestern University recently found that adding metallic supra-structured cryo-nanocatalysts, or MSCNs, can improve the outcome of cryoimmunotherapy procedures. MSCNs are small molecules that elevate the temperature at which tissue freezes, so the cryoimmunotherapy can work more effectively.

Types of Cryoimmunotherapy Treatment

Cryoimmunotherapy treatment can take many forms, but always involves the use of cryoablation to freeze cells. This method can be partnered with drug therapies, such as Keytruda, Opdivo, or Tecentriq;  immune enhancers, or vaccines to have the desired effect. Cryoablation and immunotherapy is customizable, but always takes place in vivo, meaning inside the patient’s body.

How is Cryoimmunotherapy Used to Treat Cancer?

Cryoimmunotherapy medicine is primarily used to treat metastatic, or advanced stage cancers that may not be able to be treated with chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery. The cryoablation process kills what living cancer cells it is able to, eliciting an immune response. The dead tumor cells release an antigen, a type of cell that activates the immune system to fight them. The added cancer immunotherapy then follows up to strengthen the body’s original response. 

Does Cryoimmunotherapy Work?

Like other cancer treatments, cryoimmunotherapy shows more promising results in early-stage cancers, with a five-year recurrence-free survival rate of 96.39% among early breast cancer patients. Research is still emerging, but a lung cancer study indicated an 88% three-year survival rate after cryoablation immunotherapy. It has been shown to have similar efficacy as partial nephrectomy, or PN, the removal of diseased kidney tissue, the gold standard in kidney cancer treatment. 

As an added bonus, cryoimmunotherapy has shown fewer side effects and post-operative complications when compared to many typical cancer treatments. 

Could cryoimmunotherapy fit into your cancer journey? For guidance on navigating your cancer and treatment options, contact us today.

Sources:

• Improving Next-Generation Cancer Treatments, Northwestern Medicine
• Cryoimmunotherapy, Wikipedia
• The History of Cryosurgery, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 2001
• Progress in the Cryoablation and Cryoimmunotherapy for Tumor, Frontiers in Immunology, 2023
• Liquid Nitrogen–Based Cryoablation Leads to High RFS Rate in Low-Risk, Early-Stage Breast Cancer, OncLive