immunotherapy

American  

[im-yuh-noh-ther-uh-pee, ih-myoo-] / ˌɪm jə noʊˈθɛr ə pi, ɪˌmju- /

noun

immunotherapies plural

1. treatment designed to produce immunity to a disease or enhance the resistance of the immune system to an active disease process, as cancer.

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immunotherapy British  

/ ˌɪmjʊnəʊˈθɛrəpɪ, ˌɪmjʊnəʊˌθɛrəˈpjuːtɪk /

noun

1. med the treatment of disease by stimulating the body's production of antibodies

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• immunotherapeutic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• immunotherapies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of immunotherapy

First recorded in 1905–10; immuno- + therapy

Example Sentences

A rare and aggressive form of liver cancer has long resisted immunotherapy, a treatment that helps the body's own immune system attack cancer cells.

From Science Daily • Jun. 25, 2026

The study, published in the journal Gastroenterology, sheds light on why immunotherapy has struggled against this cancer.

From Science Daily • Jun. 25, 2026

GSK’s oncology business is small but growing, helped by sales of an immunotherapy called Jemperli.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

In melanoma, her team discovered that immunotherapy works better when a combination of drugs is used, and when they are administered before any surgery to remove a tumour.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026

“Despite recent advances in immunotherapy and targeted therapy, most patients with non-small-cell lung cancer continue to have disease progression and develop resistance to current treatments,” the authors of a commentary wrote in The Lancet.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 1, 2026