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Written by Dr. Vikesh Shah · MBBS, MD AIIMS
Questions Patients Ask. Honest Answers.
Every family arrives with the same questions — about how the treatment works, what the process involves, who it is right for, and what to expect. These answers are written plainly, without jargon, and without glossing over what matters.
Dr. Vikesh Shah
MBBS · MD, AIIMS New Delhi · Cancer Immunotherapy Specialist · Founder, ImmunoHope
About Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy
5 questions
What exactly is Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy?
Dendritic cells are immune cells the body already makes. Their job is to patrol the body, identify threats — viruses, bacteria, abnormal cells — and instruct the immune system on what to destroy.
In cancer, the problem is not that the immune system has stopped working. Cancer cells have found ways to disguise themselves so the immune system no longer recognises them as a threat.
Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy uses the patient’s own blood. A sample is taken, the cells are educated in the laboratory to recognise what the specific cancer looks like, and then returned to the body. Once inside, they alert the immune system and direct it to find and destroy the cancer — using the patient’s own biology, trained and redirected.
Is this the same as CAR-T therapy or checkpoint inhibitors?
No — and the difference matters clinically. All three fall under cancer immunotherapy, but they work through entirely different mechanisms.
CAR-T cell therapy involves genetically modifying T-cells to express an artificial receptor targeting a specific protein. It is used for certain blood cancers and requires highly specialised infrastructure.
Checkpoint inhibitors are pharmaceutical drugs that block the signals cancer cells use to hide from the immune system.
Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy is a cell-based approach. The cells are not genetically modified. They are educated using the cancer’s own molecular information and returned to the body. The treatment is highly personalised, minimally invasive, and does not carry the systemic toxicity profile of pharmaceutical immunotherapy agents.
Is there research behind this approach?
Yes. Dendritic cell immunotherapy has been an active area of clinical and laboratory research for several decades. Provenge (sipuleucel-T), a dendritic cell-based treatment for prostate cancer, received approval from the US FDA in 2010 — the first regulatory approval for any therapeutic cancer vaccine anywhere in the world.
Beyond that milestone, hundreds of published studies from researchers around the world have continued to explore this approach across many different cancer types. The idea that the body’s own immune cells can be taught to recognise and fight cancer is well established in medical science.
Every patient’s case is different. Published research describes outcomes across populations — individual responses depend on cancer type, stage, immune function, and other clinical variables assessed before treatment begins.
How is immunotherapy different from chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy targets rapidly dividing cells — including healthy ones — which is the source of familiar side effects: hair loss, nausea, mouth sores, lowered blood counts.
Immunotherapy works through the immune system, which is inherently capable of telling the difference between healthy tissue and cancer. The collateral damage is generally far lower, and most patients are able to continue their daily activities through the course of treatment.
Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy is trained against the cancer’s own molecular signature — making the immune response targeted, not systemic. That said, the two approaches are not necessarily in competition. In many cases, they can be used together.
What is immune memory, and why does it matter in cancer treatment?
Think about how a vaccine works. After a child receives a measles vaccine, their body remembers what measles looks like. The immune system holds onto that memory and stays ready — no booster needed every few months.
The same principle applies here. When the body’s immune cells are taught to recognise cancer, they don’t simply forget that lesson once treatment ends. That memory can stay in the body, quietly on watch — ready to respond if cancer cells appear again.
Unlike a drug that gets used up and leaves the system, trained immune memory can last. It is one of the most meaningful differences between this approach and conventional treatments.
The Treatment Process
4 questions
Walk me through exactly what happens from start to finish.
The process begins with a consultation. Medical history and reports are reviewed, and if immunotherapy is a good fit, here is what happens:
- A blood sample is taken— a routine blood draw at the medical facility.
- The laboratory does its work— immune cells are carefully nurtured and educated in a specialised lab, personalised entirely to the patient’s cancer. This step takes a number of days and cannot be rushed — it is the heart of the treatment.
- The trained cells are returned— as a day care procedure. The patient goes home the same day.
- This repeats in cycles— each patient’s schedule is planned individually based on how they are responding and what their body needs.
For most patients, daily life continues through the entire treatment.
How long does each treatment cycle take? How many cycles are needed?
Each cycle involves a blood draw followed by a laboratory phase where immune cells are prepared and trained. The actual appointment when the cells are returned is brief, and the patient goes home the same day.
The number of cycles depends entirely on the individual — the nature of the cancer, how the body responds, and what is observed between sessions. A personalised plan is discussed at the very first consultation.
What does the laboratory process actually involve?
Once the blood sample is taken, the laboratory team gets to work. Immune cells are carefully separated and placed in a controlled environment where they are nurtured and allowed to grow stronger over several days.
The key step is introducing these cells to information about the patient’s specific cancer — essentially showing them what it looks like — so they learn to recognise it. Think of it as a training programme, tailored entirely to that individual’s situation.
Once ready, the cells are prepared for return to the body. The time this takes is not a waiting period — it is the treatment itself unfolding.
How will we know if the treatment is working?
Response assessment in immunotherapy requires a different frame than in conventional treatment. Chemotherapy often produces measurable changes in tumour size quickly. Immunotherapy works through the immune system — and immune responses build over time.
Progress is monitored through a combination of imaging (CT, PET, MRI as appropriate), blood markers, and clinical assessment.
It is also worth noting that some patients show what is called pseudo-progression — an apparent increase in lesion size on imaging that actually reflects immune cell infiltration rather than true tumour growth. This is why assessment in immunotherapy requires clinical interpretation alongside scan reports, not just a number on a radiologist’s summary.
Eligibility & Suitability
3 questions
Is there an age limit for this treatment?
There is no fixed age limit. Age alone is rarely the deciding factor. What matters most is how the patient is doing overall — how they are feeling and moving through daily life — and whether the body is in a state to support the treatment. This is assessed through a simple clinical review before any recommendation is made.
Older patients often tolerate this treatment well precisely because it does not place the same physical demands on the body as high-dose conventional treatments.
Can a patient who is very weak from prior chemotherapy still receive this treatment?
This is one of the most common situations at ImmunoHope. Many patients arrive after multiple rounds of chemotherapy or radiation that have left them physically depleted.
Because Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy does not introduce systemic toxins and does not rely on high-dose treatment, it is tolerated by patients who are already weakened. The treatment draws on the immune system, not on toxic exposure tolerance.
That said, every patient’s situation is different. A full review is always done before making any recommendation. Some patients need a little time to recover before beginning, and the plan is built around that.
My family member has a Stage 4 diagnosis. Is it too late?
Stage 4 is not a door closing. It is a clinical description of spread — and many patients at ImmunoHope arrive with exactly that diagnosis.
What matters is the patient’s current condition: immune function, organ reserve, performance status, and the nature of the cancer — its biology, not just its spread. Immunotherapy does not depend on surgical access, and it does not require the physiological resilience that high-dose chemotherapy demands. That is why it remains a realistic clinical option even when other paths have become narrower.
An honest assessment of whether immunotherapy is appropriate, what it can and cannot realistically offer, and what the full picture looks like is provided at the consultation — so informed decisions can be made.
“A phone or video consultation is available for Stage 4 patients who cannot travel immediately. Send recent scans and blood reports in advance so they can be reviewed before the call.”
Side Effects & Tolerability
3 questions
What side effects should we realistically expect?
The side effect profile of Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy is significantly different — and generally far milder — than what patients experience with conventional chemotherapy or radiation.
The most commonly reported experiences after administration include mild flu-like symptoms — low-grade fever, mild fatigue, or a transient feeling of being unwell. These are signs of immune activation and typically resolve on their own without intervention. Some patients notice mild redness or swelling at the administration site.
There is no hair loss, no severe nausea, no bone marrow suppression, and no significant drop in blood counts as a direct result of the immunotherapy. Most patients are able to continue their daily activities through the entire course of treatment.
Can this treatment cause the immune system to attack healthy tissue?
It is a fair and thoughtful question — and one that patients are right to ask.
With Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy, the cells are specifically taught to recognise the patient’s cancer. Because the process is so targeted and personalised, it is fundamentally different from broader approaches that activate the immune system in a more general, less precise way.
No medical treatment comes with zero risk, and that will never be claimed otherwise. What can be said is that patients consistently experience a level of tolerability that is very different from the side effects many people associate with other forms of cancer treatment.
Will the patient be able to work or manage daily life during treatment?
For the majority of patients, yes. The generally mild side effect profile means that most patients maintain a reasonable degree of daily function throughout treatment. Some report feeling mildly fatigued after each administration session; most describe returning to normal activity quickly.
Being able to remain at home, maintain some routine, and not spend weeks recovering in a ward matters deeply — especially when a cancer diagnosis has already disrupted so much.
Alongside Other Treatments
3 questions
Can immunotherapy be given alongside chemotherapy?
In many cases, yes. Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy can work alongside other cancer treatments — and because it works through the immune system rather than adding more toxicity to the body, it is often very well suited to patients who are already on other treatments.
The key is timing and thoughtful planning. Each patient’s full treatment picture is reviewed before any recommendation is made — ensuring the approach gives the immunotherapy the best possible conditions to work.
Whether to use both approaches together or in a planned sequence is always a case-by-case decision.
Can it be used after surgery or radiation?
Yes, and this is a common scenario. Many patients come following surgical resection of a primary tumour — sometimes with concern that residual microscopic disease may remain — or after a course of radiation.
Using immunotherapy as a post-surgical or post-radiation consolidation approach makes clinical sense in a number of cancer types. When the primary tumour burden has been reduced, the immune system is in a better position to deal with remaining cells — and an educated immune response can be directed at exactly those residual cancer markers.
Timing is assessed individually — the interval between completing radiation and beginning immunotherapy matters, as radiation can temporarily affect immune cell counts.
The patient is currently on targeted therapy. Does that affect eligibility?
This depends on the specific targeted agent and how it interacts with immune cell function. Some targeted therapies are compatible with the dendritic cell process. Others have effects that need to be factored into the timing and approach.
The specific agent being used, at what dose, and for how long — along with recent blood counts — all need to be reviewed before any recommendation. This is a discussion for the consultation, not a question that can be answered without seeing the full clinical picture.
Cancer Types We See
2 questions
Which cancers can be treated with this approach?
Because dendritic cell therapy is trained against the cancer’s own molecular fingerprint — rather than targeting a single fixed protein — it can be considered across a wide range of cancer types.
Cancers regularly seen at ImmunoHope include:
- Breast cancer — all major subtypes
- Lung cancer — non-small cell and small cell
- Oral, head, and neck cancers
- Ovarian and cervical cancer
- Prostate and kidney cancer
- Lymphoma and leukaemia
- Colorectal and gastrointestinal cancers
- Brain tumours including glioblastoma
- Pancreatic and hepatocellular carcinoma
- Sarcoma and other rare cancers
If the cancer type is not listed here, it is still worth a clinical assessment — please reach out.
Can this be used for rare or less common cancers?
Often, yes — and this is one of the genuine clinical advantages of this approach. Rare cancers frequently lack dedicated pharmaceutical options, because drug development focuses on patient populations large enough to run commercial trials.
Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy is built around the individual patient’s cancer — not around a fixed drug designed for a large population. Families dealing with rare cancer diagnoses are encouraged to bring their pathology and imaging reports to the consultation. An honest clinical assessment is always better than an assumption.
Booking a Consultation
3 questions
We are from outside Gujarat. Can a first consultation happen by phone or video?
Yes. Patients from across India are seen, and for families who cannot travel immediately — especially in advanced-stage situations — a phone or video consultation is always an option for the first conversation.
To make that call genuinely useful, please send recent scan reports (CT, PET, or MRI), biopsy or histopathology findings, and recent blood work in advance. When the actual reports are reviewed before the call, a meaningful clinical assessment can be given rather than a list of generalities.
What should we bring to the first in-person consultation?
The most helpful documents are:
- Most recent CT, PET, or MRI scan report — ideally with the CD or images
- Biopsy or histopathology report, including receptor status if applicable
- Recent blood count and biochemistry results
- A list of all current medications and supplements
- Any treatment summary from previous treating physicians
If everything is not available, come anyway. Bring what you have — cases with incomplete records are reviewed all the time.
“If sending reports ahead of a video or phone call, the team can be reached at vikeshshah06@gmail.com or +91 63588 56651.”
How do I book a consultation?
The team can be reached by phone at +91 63588 56651, or by email at vikeshshah06@gmail.com. Bookings can also be made directly through immunohope.com/counseling.
When getting in touch, mention whether an in-person or remote consultation is preferred, and share a brief overview of the patient’s situation — cancer type, current stage, and any treatment received so far.
Practical & Logistical Questions
3 questions
Can the patient eat normally or follow a special diet during treatment?
There are no rigid dietary restrictions that apply universally. In most cases, patients can continue eating normally — including a full, balanced diet. Supporting general nutritional status is beneficial for any patient dealing with cancer.
If there are existing dietary restrictions related to the cancer type, other medications, or other conditions, those should be discussed at the consultation so they can be factored into the plan.
Should the patient stop taking supplements or alternative medicines before treatment?
Please bring a complete list of everything the patient is currently taking — including supplements, herbal preparations, and any alternative medicines — to the consultation. Some supplements and herbal compounds can have immunomodulatory effects, and each case is reviewed individually rather than applying a blanket rule.
Full transparency about what is going into the body is important so the clinical assessment is complete. There is no judgement involved.
We are managing the patient's care from another city. How do we stay informed during treatment?
Families coordinating care from a distance are a regular part of the practice. Remote communication is accommodated throughout the treatment course — whether that is a family member in another city who manages the patient’s affairs, or a caregiver abroad who cannot be present at every appointment.
The team can be reached by phone and email, and clinical questions or progress updates can be discussed directly with involved family members. The most important thing is that the patient and their support network have a clear picture at every stage.
About the Author
Dr. Vikesh Shah
MBBS · MD, AIIMS New Delhi · Cancer Immunotherapy Specialist · Founder, ImmunoHope
- 10+ years specialising in Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy
- MD conferred at AIIMS New Delhi convocation by Shri J.P. Nadda
- 3 peer-reviewed research papers published
- Active clinical affiliations at 7 hospitals across Gujarat & Maharashtra
MBBS Degree Conferred by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam
— Former President of India.
Ready to Ask Your Own Questions?
The consultation is where answers specific to your situation can be given — not general FAQs. Bring your reports. Ask everything.
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A Note on the Information on This Page
The answers on this page are written to give patients and families a clear, honest understanding of Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy as practised at ImmunoHope. They are for educational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice for any individual situation. Every cancer case is biologically different. Treatment decisions must be made in consultation with a qualified physician who has reviewed your specific reports, history, and clinical picture. Nothing here replaces that individual assessment.
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Still Have Questions? Bring Them to the Consultation.
A page of FAQs can only go so far. The consultation is where answers specific to your cancer, your reports, and your situation can be given. Bring everything. Ask everything.
FAQs
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Common Questions
Got Questions? We’ve Got Answers!
It’s a treatment that uses your own immune system to recognize and fight cancer cells more effectively.
Unlike chemotherapy, it targets only cancer cells with minimal damage to healthy tissues.
Yes, it's generally well-tolerated and safe.
Since it boosts your natural immune system, side effects are minimal in most patients.
Absolutely.
It’s often used alongside chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery to improve outcomes.
Side effects are usually mild and temporary.
They may include fatigue or flu-like symptoms, but serious effects are rare.
The cell preparation takes 8–12 days, followed by an infusion.
You may need multiple cycles depending on your treatment plan.
Immunotherapy builds immune memory to fight recurrence.
While no treatment guarantees a cure, it may delay or prevent relapse.
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast
Chemotherapy attacks all fast-growing cells, including healthy ones.
Immunotherapy is more targeted, with fewer side effects and improved patient comfort.
It’s suitable for patients in advanced stages or those not responding to traditional treatments.
Your eligibility depends on cancer type, health condition, and treatment history.
Yes, it has shown positive results in late-stage and metastatic cancers.
It can offer a ray of hope when other treatments fail.
Immune cells are collected from your blood, trained in a lab, and infused back.
This helps your body recognize and destroy cancer cells.
Immunotherapy can treat a wide range: breast, lung, colon, brain, ovarian, head & neck, and more.
It’s especially promising in solid tumors and resistant cancers.
Not at all.
The process is similar to a blood draw and a simple infusion — no surgery or hospitalization required.
ImmunoHope offers this advanced treatment for immunotherapy in Ahmedabad.
Our facility is led by Dr. Vikesh Shah, an expert in targeted cancer immunotherapy.