A new class of chemotherapy treatments designed to stimulate the body's own ability to fight cancer could prove beneficial for some patients.

According to the Cancer Research Institute, the new therapies have reduced tumors in clinical trials.

"They are unique in that they allow the body's immune system to now recognize the tumor cells which were until then camouflaged," says Dr. Bhoomi Mehrotra, director of oncology at the Cancer Institute.

The problem is the new class of drugs that doctors are calling revolutionary can be dangerous for some patients who also have heart disease. A study this month in the New England Journal of Medicine found 18 of more than 20,000 patients studied suffered heart damage as a direct result of using the checkpoint inhibitor cancer therapy.

"These immune therapies create an immunological storm that can attack any organ, from endocrine organs, the heart, the lungs, the skin," says Dr. Mehrotra.

Experts say the key lies in identifying whether the new therapies outweigh the risks for patients.