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Level B1

Immunotherapy: Transforming Cancer Treatment and Its Challenges

Lesson overview

Immunotherapy is revolutionizing cancer treatment by enhancing the immune system's ability to target cancer cells. Breakthroughs like checkpoint inhibitors and CAR T-cell therapy show promise, but challenges such as side effects, accessibility, and ethical concerns remain.

Reading text

READING TEXT

Imagine a world where your immune system helps fight cancer. This idea sounds like science fiction, but it is becoming real. Immunotherapy is a new way to treat cancer. It helps the immune system find and destroy cancer cells. This is different from traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation. Those treatments can harm healthy cells too. Immunotherapy trains the immune system to see cancer as a threat, just like it sees viruses or bacteria.

The journey to immunotherapy has been long. In the early 20th century, scientists started to study how the immune system and cancer are connected. At first, people did not believe it. Progress was slow. But as scientists learned more about immunology, they found ways to use the immune system to fight cancer. Now, in the 21st century, we are seeing big changes in cancer treatment.

One important breakthrough is checkpoint inhibitors. These drugs stop proteins that keep immune cells from attacking cancer. Imagine a bouncer at a club who stops some guests. Checkpoint inhibitors remove that bouncer, so the immune system can work. These drugs have helped treat many types of cancer, like melanoma and lung cancer.

Another exciting treatment is CAR T-cell therapy. This method takes a patient’s T-cells and changes them in a lab. The modified T-cells can better recognize and attack cancer cells. Then, doctors put them back into the patient’s body. This treatment has helped some patients with blood cancers.

However, immunotherapy is not perfect. Some patients have side effects, and not everyone responds to the treatment. This raises questions about how to make these therapies available to everyone. The cost can be very high, and some families face tough choices about care.

There are also ethical questions. Are we helping all types of cancer equally? Are only wealthy people getting these treatments? We need to think about these issues as we move forward.

In conclusion, immunotherapy is a big step in understanding cancer and the immune system. It shows human creativity and hope for patients. But we must also think about how to make these treatments fair for everyone. As we look to the future, we should celebrate successes and work for a better healthcare system.

Discussion prompts

DISCUSSION PROMPTS

  • 1. What do you think about the role of the immune system in fighting cancer?
  • 2. How can we make sure that everyone has access to new treatments?
  • 3. What are the benefits and risks of new medical treatments?
  • 4. Why is it important to discuss ethical questions in medicine?
  • 5. How do you feel about the future of cancer treatment?

Key vocabulary

Match each numbered word with the correct lettered definition.

Words

  • 1. immunotherapy
  • 2. immune system
  • 3. cancer
  • 4. treatment
  • 5. breakthrough
  • 6. side effects
  • 7. ethical
  • 8. access

Definitions

  • a. A disease where cells grow uncontrollably in the body.
  • b. An important discovery that helps solve a problem.
  • c. The ability to get something.
  • d. The body's defense system that fights infections and diseases.
  • e. The way to help someone who is sick.
  • f. A treatment that helps the immune system fight diseases like cancer.
  • g. Unwanted effects that can happen when taking medicine.
  • h. Related to what is right or wrong.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Question 1

What is immunotherapy?

  • a) A) A type of cancer
  • b) B) A treatment that helps the immune system
  • c) C) A new kind of virus
  • d) D) A healthy food
Question 2

What do checkpoint inhibitors do?

  • a) A) They help healthy cells
  • b) B) They block proteins that stop immune cells
  • c) C) They are a type of cancer
  • d) D) They are a kind of food
Question 3

Is immunotherapy a perfect solution for everyone?

  • a) A) Yes, it works for all patients
  • b) B) No, some patients have side effects
  • c) C) Yes, it is cheap
  • d) D) No, it is not a treatment
Question 4

What is CAR T-cell therapy?

  • a) A) A type of cancer
  • b) B) A method that changes T-cells
  • c) C) A kind of food
  • d) D) A new virus
Question 5

What is one challenge of immunotherapy?

  • a) A) It is always successful
  • b) B) It is cheap for everyone
  • c) C) Some patients do not respond
  • d) D) It is easy to understand

TRUE / FALSE

TRUE / FALSE QUESTIONS

Question 1

Immunotherapy is a new treatment for cancer. (True/False)

  • ☐ True
  • ☐ False
Question 2

The immune system attacks only cancer cells. (True/False)

  • ☐ True
  • ☐ False
Question 3

Checkpoint inhibitors help the immune system work better. (True/False)

  • ☐ True
  • ☐ False
Question 4

All patients have the same response to immunotherapy. (True/False)

  • ☐ True
  • ☐ False
Question 5

Immunotherapy is only for blood cancers. (True/False)

  • ☐ True
  • ☐ False

SHORT ANSWER

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Question 1

What is one benefit of immunotherapy?

Question 2

What is a challenge mentioned in the article?

Question 3

What ethical question is raised in the article?

Question 4

What does CAR T-cell therapy do?

Question 5

What do researchers hope for the future of immunotherapy?

GRAMMAR EXERCISES

GRAMMAR

Grammar Point: Present & Past Passive

Why this point appears in the article: The article discusses immunotherapy and its effects, which often involves passive constructions to emphasize the action rather than the doer, such as "Immunotherapy is a new way to treat cancer." What learners need to understand: The passive voice is used when the focus is on the action or the recipient of the action rather than the doer. At B1 level, learners should recognize the structure of the passive (be + past participle) and understand when it is appropriate to use it, especially in scientific contexts where the agent may be unknown or less important.

Exercises:

Fill in the blank
Complete the sentences using the correct passive form of the verb in parentheses.

  1. Immunotherapy ___ (develop) to help the immune system fight cancer.
  2. Many types of cancer ___ (treat) with checkpoint inhibitors.

Error correction
Identify and correct the mistake in the passive voice.
3. The immune system is trained to see cancer as a threat by scientists.
4. Some patients are helped by CAR T-cell therapy.

Sentence transformation
Rewrite the sentences in the passive voice.
5. Scientists started to study how the immune system and cancer are connected.
6. Doctors put the modified T-cells back into the patient’s body.

Fill in the blank open
Write a sentence in the passive voice about immunotherapy using the following prompt:
7. Many patients ___ (help) by immunotherapy.

Matching
Match the passive sentences to their meanings.
8.
a) Immunotherapy is being researched.

b) Checkpoint inhibitors are used in treatments.
i) Research is currently ongoing.
ii) These drugs are part of cancer treatments.

Answer key

KEY VOCABULARY

  • 1. immunotherapy → f
  • 2. immune system → d
  • 3. cancer → a
  • 4. treatment → e
  • 5. breakthrough → b
  • 6. side effects → g
  • 7. ethical → h
  • 8. access → c

MULTIPLE CHOICE

  • 1. B) A treatment that helps the immune system
  • 2. B) They block proteins that stop immune cells
  • 3. B) No, some patients have side effects
  • 4. B) A method that changes T-cells
  • 5. C) Some patients do not respond

TRUE / FALSE

  • 1. True
  • 2. False
  • 3. True
  • 4. False
  • 5. False

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

  • 1. It helps the immune system fight cancer.
  • 2. The cost of treatment can be very high.
  • 3. Are we helping all types of cancer equally?
  • 4. It modifies T-cells to attack cancer cells.
  • 5. They hope to make treatments fair for everyone.

GRAMMAR EXERCISES

Answer Key:

  1. is developed — The sentence is in the present passive form, indicating that immunotherapy is currently being developed.
  2. are treated — This is the present passive form, showing that many cancers are treated with these drugs.
  3. The immune system is trained to see cancer as a threat by scientists. — The correct form should be "The immune system is trained by scientists to see cancer as a threat." The original sentence incorrectly places the agent after the action.
  4. Some patients are helped by CAR T-cell therapy. — This sentence is correct as it is in the passive voice, focusing on the patients receiving help.
  5. How the immune system and cancer are connected was studied by scientists. — This transforms the active voice into passive, focusing on the action of studying.
  6. The modified T-cells are put back into the patient’s body by doctors. — This changes the active voice to passive, emphasizing the action taken on the T-cells.
  7. are helped — This is the correct passive form, indicating that many patients receive help from immunotherapy.
  8. a) i,
    b) ii — The first sentence indicates ongoing research, while the second describes the use of checkpoint inhibitors in treatments.

Grammar Point: Reported Speech (Tense Backshift)

Why this point appears in the article: The article discusses the historical development of immunotherapy, which can involve reported speech to convey what scientists believed or discovered in the past. What learners need to understand: In reported speech, the tense often shifts back one step when reporting what someone said or thought. For example, present simple changes to past simple, and present perfect changes to past perfect. Learners should be aware of these changes and how to apply them correctly.

Exercises:

Fill in the blank
Change the direct speech into reported speech.

  1. Scientists say, "Immunotherapy helps the immune system."
    Scientists ___ that immunotherapy ___ the immune system.
  2. People believed, "This idea sounds like science fiction."
    People ___ that this idea ___ like science fiction.

Error correction
Identify and correct the mistake in the reported speech.
3. Scientists said that they are studying how the immune system and cancer are connected.
4. The researchers thought that immunotherapy is a new way to treat cancer.

Sentence transformation
Transform the following sentences into reported speech.
5. "We are seeing big changes in cancer treatment," the doctors said.
6. "Checkpoint inhibitors help treat many types of cancer," the researcher explained.

Fill in the blank open
Complete the sentence in reported speech.
7. The article states, "Immunotherapy is a big step in understanding cancer."
The article states that immunotherapy ___ a big step in understanding cancer.

Jumbled sentence reordering
Reorder the words to form a correct reported speech sentence.
8. that / scientists / believed / it / was / possible / to / use / the immune system / fight cancer.

Answer Key:

  1. said; helps — The present simple "helps" changes to "helps" in reported speech, as the statement is still true.
  2. believed; sounded — The present simple "sounds" changes to past simple "sounded" in reported speech.
  3. Scientists said that they were studying how the immune system and cancer are connected. — The present continuous "are studying" should be changed to past continuous "were studying."
  4. The researchers thought that immunotherapy was a new way to treat cancer. — The present simple "is" should be changed to past simple "was."
  5. The doctors said that they were seeing big changes in cancer treatment. — The present continuous "are seeing" changes to past continuous "were seeing."
  6. The researcher explained that checkpoint inhibitors helped treat many types of cancer. — The present simple "help" changes to past simple "helped."
  7. is — The correct form is "is," which remains unchanged because it is a general truth being reported.
  8. Scientists believed that it was possible to use the immune system to fight cancer. — The correct order emphasizes the belief of scientists in the past.

Grammar Point: Gerunds vs Infinitives

Why this point appears in the article: The article discusses various treatments and methods, which can involve verbs that are followed by either gerunds or infinitives, such as "help" and "try." What learners need to understand: Some verbs are followed by gerunds (verb + -ing) while others are followed by infinitives (to + verb). At B1 level, learners should be able to distinguish between these and understand how the meaning can change depending on which form is used.

Exercises:

Fill in the blank
Complete the sentences using the correct form (gerund or infinitive) of the verb in parentheses.

  1. Immunotherapy helps the immune system ___ (fight) cancer cells.
  2. Scientists started ___ (study) how the immune system and cancer are connected.

Error correction
Identify and correct the mistake in the gerund or infinitive usage.
3. The researchers tried to finding new ways to treat cancer.
4. Many patients enjoy to receive immunotherapy.

Sentence transformation
Transform the sentences using the correct form (gerund or infinitive).
5. The scientists decided to explore new treatments.
6. Some patients dislike waiting for results.

Fill in the blank open
Write a sentence using the correct form (gerund or infinitive) based on the prompt.
7. The doctors recommend ___ (try) immunotherapy.

Matching
Match the verbs to their correct forms (gerund or infinitive).
8.
a) start

b) enjoy
i) to study
ii) studying

Answer Key:

  1. fight — The infinitive form "to fight" is used after "helps."
  2. studying — The gerund form "studying" is used after "started."
  3. The researchers tried to find new ways to treat cancer. — The gerund "finding" should be corrected to the infinitive "to find."
  4. Many patients enjoy receiving immunotherapy. — The infinitive "to receive" should be corrected to the gerund "receiving."
  5. The scientists decided to explore new treatments. — This sentence is correct as "decided" is followed by the infinitive form.
  6. Some patients dislike waiting for results. — This sentence is correct as "dislike" is followed by the gerund form.
  7. trying — The correct form is "trying," indicating the recommendation to attempt immunotherapy.
  8. a) ii,
    b) i — "Start" is followed by a gerund, while "enjoy" is followed by a gerund.

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