Immunotherapy and chemotherapy are both used to treat cancer. Immunotherapy utilizes the body’s immune system to attack and kill cancer cells, while chemotherapy directly attacks the cancer cells. Besides the mechanism of how they target cancer cells, the main differences between immunotherapy and chemotherapy are the side effects, how long they work, and cost.[1]

Immunotherapy tends to have less side effects than chemotherapy because it only targets the immune system instead of the entire body. The way these therapies act leads to different side effects. For example, immunotherapy typically causes flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, and fatigue as a result of overactivation of the immune system. Chemotherapy, on the other hand, tends to cause symptoms such as nausea, hair loss, and mouth sores due to the drug attacking rapidly dividing cells throughout the entire body (hair cells, mucous cells in digestive system, etc.).[1]

Immunotherapy also generally gives longer lasting protection from cancer recurrence than chemotherapy. Chemotherapy stops working when the drugs are no longer administered, but immunotherapy can teach the immune system to recognize the cancer cells so that the immune system can keep killing cancer cells after treatment has ended. Conversely, chemotherapy can begin working very quickly and can shrink a tumor almost immediately while immunotherapy often requires longer periods of time to take effect.[1]

Regarding cost, immunotherapy tends to be more expensive than chemotherapy. In 2016, the average cost for immunotherapy was $202,202, and the average cost for chemotherapy was $147,801. Overall, there are advantages and disadvantages for all cancer treatments, but the best treatment depends on each individual cancer. Many factors can dictate which treatments should be tried, and some cancers respond to certain treatments and do not respond to others.[1]

References

1.     Immunotherapy vs Chemotherapy https://www.healthline.com/health/cancer/immunotherapy-vs-chemotherapy (accessed Jun 16, 2021).