Editorial overview: Tumour immunology: New frontiers in cancer immunotherapy

摘要

Over the past two decades, our increased knowledge of the tumor micro-environment, how immune cells interact with cancer cells and shape tumor immunogenicity has opened up tremendous new possibilities for the development of novel cancer therapies. Coupled to this, the advent of the immune-genomics era has now defined new gene immune signatures correlating with both positive and negative prognostic outcomes in patients for a range of different cancers. This greater understanding of the relationship between cancer and the host immune response has allowed the development of new immunotherapeutic approaches such as checkpoint pathway blockade and modified adoptive immune cell therapies. The durable responses that these therapies have delivered in some patients are potent examples of the capacity that the immune system has to mediate anti-tumor responses. However, it is becoming increasingly clear from recent studies in mouse models and in pilot clinical trials that multi-pronged approaches will be required to fully unleash the potential of immunity against cancer. This issue of Current Opinion in Immunology has invited experts in the tumor immunology field to review the latest developments of various cancer immunotherapies and discuss new challenges we face for generating even better and safer treatment outcomes for patients.