Best Oncologists in India for Immunotherapy
Best Immunotherapy Hospitals in India
Hospital Highlights:
- Apollo Hospitals is a private healthcare group in India, with its headquarters based in Chennai. Established in 1983 by Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, the group offers a wide range of medical treatments and services across various specialties.
- It is renowned for emphasizing innovation and utilizing cutting-edge medical technologies into patient treatment.
- Known as India’s first corporate hospital, Apollo Hospitals is often credited for pioneering the private healthcare revolution in the country.
- With clinics and hospitals located all throughout India, Apollo Hospitals is a nationwide healthcare organization. Its presence can also be found in foreign countries.
- Preventive health examinations, medical and surgical treatment, and diagnostic centres are just a few of the services that the Apollo group provides.
- The group has several centres of expertise, including Cardiac Sciences, Neurosciences, Orthopedics, Emergency Care, Cancer Care, and Organ Transplantation.
- City: Chennai, India
Hospital Highlights:
- RIMC is a multi-specialty hospital in a sprawling area of 36 acres located in Chromepet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
- The facility has 450 beds including 130 critical care beds, 9 operating rooms, modern reference laboratories and radiology services, and is conveniently located near road, rail and air transportation.
- RIMC is led and managed by world-renowned physicians committed to healthcare.
- RIMC offers the broadest range of clinical care, education, and research. The hospital offers state-of-the-art technology and modern treatment facilities designed to provide health care at an affordable cost.
- Rela Institute is driven by patient needs, comfort and confidence.
- City: New Delhi, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Fortis Hospital in Shalimar Bagh is a multi-super specialty hospital that strives to provide world-class patient care by leaving no stone unturned.
- Fortis, Shalimar Bagh, with 262 beds and a 7.34-acre footprint, provides the best level of medical care through its team of doctors, nurses, technicians, and management professionals.
- City: Bengaluru, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Established in 2007, the Apollo Hospitals Bangalore is a 300-bed multispecialty hospital situated in Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore.
- Equipped with the state-of-the-art technology, it is a leading hospital dedicated to providing healthcare needs to patients with compassion and expertise.
- It is the first hospital to have completed the highest number of Robot Assisted Heart Surgeries in India.
- Over the years, it has successfully conducted some of the rarest medical procedures such as spinal angiolipoma excision, autologous chondrocyte implantations, and tibial tuberosity shift with MPSL reconstruction.
- The Apollo Hospitals Bangalore has the reputation of performing the greatest series of airway stents in the country.
- Additionally, the hospital is known for providing comprehensive treatment in specialties such as gastroenterology, urology, gynecology, oncology, colorectal surgery, etc.
- The “The Minimal Access Surgery Centre” (MASC), one of Apollo Hospitals, Bangalore’s premier Centres of Excellence, is devoted to the use of minimally invasive surgical procedures.
- In 2013, THE WEEK-A C Nielsen, Best Hospital Survey ranked Apollo Hospitals Bangalore as the 2nd best multi-speciality hospital in Bangalore.
- City: Mumbai, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Gleneagles Global Hospital The 450-bed facility comprises of 17-stories, housing state-of-the-art infrastructure, and advanced medical care facilities.
- The hospital offers end-to-end clinical, surgical, and diagnostic services. It is equipped with a team of eminent medical professionals aided by qualified nurses and medical staff
- The Hospital offers advanced Endoscopic procedures, Hepatobiliary and Liver Surgeries, Surgical and Medical Gastroenterology, Bariatric Surgery, and Robotic surgery.
- The hospital is a center of excellence for Orthopedics, Joint Replacement, Knee Replacement, and Hip Replacement surgery.
- City: Hyderabad, India
Hospital Highlights:
- CARE Hospitals were established in the year 2000, by CARE Group.
- The multispecialty hospital has 435 beds, including 120 critical care beds, with an annual inflow of 180000 outpatients and 16,000 in-patients.
- The hospital provides specialty medical services in Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Pediatric Cardiology, Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Nephrology, and Urology.
- The hospital has the first dual source, 128 slice CT scanner (for high precision cardiac imaging) – the first of its kind in south India.
- The hospital offers a wide range of accommodation facilities for the convenience of its varied patient base, ranging from general wards to super deluxe rooms.
- City: Mumbai, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Fortis Hospital in Mulund is a 315-bed multi-speciality tertiary care hospital with five JCI accreditations that offers a wide variety of diagnostic and treatment services. The Fortis Hospital in Mulund delivers patient-centred treatment with cutting-edge technology, highly skilled and experienced surgeons, and paramedical staff.
- This institution houses Maharashtra’s largest multi-organ transplant centre. It is also the first heart transplant centre in western India to conduct 100 or more consecutive heart transplants in under four years. It is the only hospital in the city to have multi-organ transplants and has handled the youngest patient for angioplasty. Fortis Hospital Mulund now boasts the first advanced surgical robot in central Mumbai.
- Cardiology and heart surgery, urology, nephrology, neurosciences, orthopaedics, digestive care, emergency and critical care, and maternity care are among the services provided by the hospital.
- City: New Delhi, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Manipal Hospitals, Dwarka, is a super-specialty hospital in Dwarka, New Delhi, which is a part of Manipal Hospitals Group.
- The hospital aims to provide the best treatment on par with international standards at a fraction of the cost.
- Equipped with 380 beds, the hospital is also one of the new age hospitals which are equipped fully with state-of-the-art infrastructure, cutting-edge technology as well as the latest and advanced clinical practices. The hospital also has 13 modular Operation theatres with 118 beds which are solely meant for critical care.
- The hospital comprises internationally acclaimed doctors and highly professional and experienced hospital and medical staff who are able to provide preventive, therapeutic, and diagnostic services all under one roof.
- City: Chennai, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Located in Chennai, India, MGM Healthcare is a top multispecialty hospital that provides all medical services under one roof.
- Since its founding in 2019, MGM Healthcare has quickly become a leading national referral centre, creating several innovative flagship initiatives.
- MGM Healthcare combines next-generation medical and digital technologies to provide better patient results.
- With 12 centres of excellence, more than 400 inpatient beds, 100 intensive care unit beds, and 24/7 emergency care, MGM Healthcare leaves no chance in redefining the patient experience in Chennai.
- MGM Healthcare boasts 250+ expert doctors across 30+ departments, including Cardiology, Pulmonology, Neurology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and more.
- They house 12 specialized Centres of Excellence, including Neurosciences, Orthopaedics, and Multi-Organ Transplantation.
- Their team of doctors, nurses, and paramedics works together to give every patient individualized treatment.
Hospital Highlights:
- Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre is India’s premier multi-speciality tertiary care hospital and has been recognised as a global medical excellence centre.
- Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre has built an unrivalled level of trust with its patients over the years, thanks to a solid foundation that comprises cutting-edge facilities, the best medical competence, research, education, and charity endeavours.
- The hospital is quite proud of the fact that it now serves patients from all kinds of backgrounds, not just from the United States but from all around the world.
- The hospital has a total of 323 beds, one of the largest Intensive Care Units (ICUs), 12 Operation Theatres with modern amenities, over 300 consultants, and almost 1,800 personnel.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a treatment for cancer where the treatment aims to stimulate and boost the body’s natural defense system, a.k.a our immune system to help prevent metastasis (spread of cancer) if not cancer completely.
Our body has a natural power of healing, thanks to the WBCs and antibodies that recognize foreign substances in our system and fight them off. These bits form a part of our body’s immune system and are structured to help us fight diseases. Immunotherapy uses this very concept where it recognizes our body’s natural immunity as a powerful weapon to fight off the abnormal cell function within the body, thereby aiming to prevent cancer cell growth.
Benefits of Immunotherapy
The 3 primary benefits of Immunotherapy
While used in combination with other / alternative cancer treatment and therapy methods- Immunotherapy as a standalone therapy can help your body in 3 key ways:
- Stimulates the Immune System to boost their attack intensity
- Helps the body with additional components to help them fight off better
- Educates the Immune System so that it can recognize or diagnose specific cells that are cancerous or abnormal in nature.
Types of Immunotherapy
There are primarily 4 distinct immunotherapy types that doctors recommend. Based on your diagnosis, your healthcare professional will determine which type is more suitable for you. These are as follows:
1. Monoclonal Antibodies
Monoclonal antibodies are much like the antibodies that your body produces to fight off abnormalities, except, these antibodies are often created in a lab and infused with your body’s antibody to help them fight off cancer in various ways. Also popularly known as targeted therapy, this type of therapy can even be used to prevent your natural antibodies from harming healthy cells.
2. Oncolytic Virus therapy
This therapy uses external viruses modified in a lab to help destroy the existing cancer cells in your body. Once the virus is injected into your system, these genetically-enhanced viruses infiltrate the cancer cells and copies them, causing the cancer cells to burst and die. The dying cells in turn releases certain proteins which alerts our immune system and helps us fight off the remaining cancer cells in a better way.
3. T-cell therapy
In this procedure, the doctor will extract the T cells from your blood and modify it in a lab by adding certain proteins to it. These modified T cells will now be able to diagnose or recognize the cancer cells. Once put back in the body, the enhanced T cells seek out and destroy the cancer cells.
4. Cancer vaccines
Cancer cells when introduced in your body exposes your immune system to antigens, a foreign substance. Your immune system gets triggered on encountering the antigens and boosts the immunity level which in turn helps your body naturally fight off the cancer cells.
What type of cancer does Immunotherapy target?
Each type of immunotherapy focuses on a particular part of your body, depending on where the origin of the cancer is. For instance,
Monoclonal antibodies are usually used for:
- Brain or lung cancer
- Breast or ovarian cancer
- Stomach or prostate cancer
- Hodgkin’s lymphoma or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
T-Cell therapy usually focuses on:
- B-cell lymphomas
- Acute leukemia
Vaccine therapy is often used for:
- HPV
- Different types of prostate cancer
- Hepatitis B
Why Opt for Immunotherapy?
Now, there are multiple (more common) treatment methods for cancer out there, so you must be wondering- why Immunotherapy? Is it safe? Is it effective? Will it improve your cancer-cure chances? Let us answer that for you.
To begin with, Immunotherapy is a certified treatment method approved in the US amongst other countries. These approvals are backed by years of proficient research, development, and success which is why this is completely a safe procedure, much like any other cancer treatment alternatives.
Now that being said, Immunotherapy is still not a standalone treatment method, and may or may not impact the patient’s cancer growth based on the intensity of the condition or the type of immunotherapy used. Nevertheless, this therapy has actually helped countless patients extend their lives and is constantly being developed further as we speak.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Immunotherapy
Much like any other cancer cure, Immunotherapy too comes with its pros and cons. We have listed some of them to help you understand this therapy better.
Immunotherapy Advantages
- Since this therapy aims to stregthen your immune system, side effects from cancer or from alternate therapies for cancer will be less intense.
- Once your immune system gets a permanent boost from this therapy, cancerous conditions are less likely to come back. In fact, immunotherapy can effectively slow down rapid cancer growth in the body while the other treatment methods focus on eliminating the existing cancer cells.
- Immunotherapy can be effective if all the other treatment methods have failed.
- Since cancer treatments often include a medley of therapies, Immunotherapy can act as a great support system for other therapies and can actually help them work better.
Immunotherapy Disadvantages
- The first thing we need to keep in mind is that Immunotherapy is not for everyone. It may or may not impact your body.
- Much like any other cancer treatment method, immunotherapy too comes with side effects of its own which can be in the form of fever, chills, extreme tiredness, unexplained weight gain.
- Immunotherapy can also leave a bad reaction on your skin. It has been noticed that the immunotherapy spot often experiences redness, itchiness, and other allergy-like symptoms
- Alongside the cancerous tumors or cells, this therapy can affect the healthier organs in your body too.
While chemo and radiation therapy are relatively faster, immunotherapy is not. This therapy takes time boosting your immunity gradually which means if you’re looking for a quick fix, this therapy may not be for you.
Immunotherapy Quick Points
- Make sure you give a thorough medical history report to your doctors before the procedure with elaborate details on past or current conditions, past or current medications, lifestyle choices like alcohol and tobacco smoking etc.
- Since immunotherapy is a long-running treatment method, you may need to take significant time off before you can return to your everyday life. We recommend having a caregiver nearby for your personal day-to-day help.
- If the side-effects such as tiredness, fever, and chills start increasing after the therapy and refuses to go away- Do Not wait! Contact your doctor immediately .
FAQs
1. What is the success rate of Immunotherapy?
According to a recent study, the success rate has been determined as 15% depending on the cancer type or stage. Records also show 25% of the times, this therapy has added at least 5 years for cancer patients.
2. Will Immunotherapy affect my hair or weight like Chemo does?
There are no proven records that stated hair loss for immunotherapy. However, this therapy can make you gain weight.
3. Is there any way to know if the Immunotherapy is working positively or not?
You will be prescribed periodical checkups and blood tests by cancer specialists which will help them determine whether the therapy is positively impacting your cancer cure or not.
4. Will the side effects show up immediately after immunotherapy?
No, 40-60% of the times, the side effects took about 2-3 months to show up