Learn how immunotherapy uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer
Michelle Sabia has a passion for health equity and has dedicated her career to supporting underserved populations through education, direct service programming and advocacy. She is certified in public health and received her master's in public health from George Washington University.
She has over a decade of experience in healthcare nonprofits and healthcare delivery settings. Most recently, Michelle managed federal payment programs and community health initiatives at a local health system in Washington state. Her proudest accomplishment was designing and implementing a social determinants of health program to address the social needs of patients in clinical settings. Michelle's professional passions bleed into her volunteer work where she serves on the board of directors of the Neighborhood Clinic Tacoma, a free clinic serving those who can't access or afford healthcare services. Though she currently resides in Washington and loves the unique natural beauty of the area, Michelle was born and raised in the Northeast and is quick to tell you that her heart will always be in New York. In her free time, she and her husband enjoy raising backyard chickens, hiking, cooking and traveling.Urothelial bladder cancer , the most common form of bladder cancer, is the sixth most common cancer in the U.S. About 85,000 people are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, but the good news is that treatments forImmunotherapy is a type of treatment that uses the body’s own immune system to attack cancer cells. The Food and Drug Administration approved the first immunotherapy treatment for UBC in 1990. And since then several more have been approved. Here’s everything you need to know about how immunotherapy works with the body to fight cancer and types of immunotherapy for UBC.The immune system is made up of organs, cells and proteins that recognize and protect the body from antigens, which are substances on bacteria, viruses, tumors and even normal cells that alert your body to a foreign substance.Cancer cells are like enemies. These enemies have “flags” on them called antigens. Your immune system uses these “flags” to recognize what does not belong. When the immune system detects something harmful, it triggers a response and makes antibodies to help destroy it. The immune system can also learn to recognize these threats, so it can respond faster in the future.What are the different cells in the immune system?: Similar to dendritic cells, macrophages eat and analyze harmful cells in large amounts so other immune cells can recognize and destroy them.: Monitor and balance the immune system to make sure it doesn’t overreact or attack its own healthy cells, which is known as anImmunotherapy is a type of treatment that uses the body’s immune system to fight diseases like cancer. There are two main ways immunotherapy works:Using lab-made parts of the immune system to enhance the body’s ability to find and fight cancer cells: Checkpoints on immune cells can tell the immune system to start or stop an immune response. Cancer cells can affect the checkpoints, telling them to put the brakes on the immune system, which allows the cancer cells to grow. Immune checkpoint inhibitors release the brakes, allowing the immune system to stay active so it can attack cancer cells. For UBC treatment, immune checkpoint inhibitors can either target PD-L1, a protein on cells that stops the immune system from attacking those cells, or PD-1, a protein that stops the immune system from attacking other cells. PD-L1 and PD-1 inhibitors block these proteins to shrink tumors or slow their growth.: These are therapies that are inserted directly in the bladder. They are in liquid form and are typically used for earlier, less invasive types of bladder cancer and include:Although each of these treatments are made up of different substances, they all work by triggering the immune system to attack cancer cells.: These manmade antibodies are linked to chemotherapy drugs. They call the chemotherapy drugs directly to the cancer cells to fight them more efficiently.Yes. Depending on the type of tumor and how advanced the cancer is, a combination of different immunotherapy medications may be used for a more effective treatment. Immunotherapy may also be used with more traditional therapies like radiation, surgery or chemotherapy. She has over a decade of experience in healthcare nonprofits and healthcare delivery settings. Most recently, Michelle managed federal payment programs and community health initiatives at a local health system in Washington state. Her proudest accomplishment was designing and implementing a social determinants of health program to address the social needs of patients in clinical settings. Michelle's professional passions bleed into her volunteer work where she serves on the board of directors of the Neighborhood Clinic Tacoma, a free clinic serving those who can't access or afford healthcare services. Though she currently resides in Washington and loves the unique natural beauty of the area, Michelle was born and raised in the Northeast and is quick to tell you that her heart will always be in New York. In her free time, she and her husband enjoy raising backyard chickens, hiking, cooking and traveling.
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