The doctor's dilemma: stimulating T cells.

摘要

The goal of recruiting the armory of the adaptive immune system, particularly T cells, against cancer has long attracted investigators. Since initial case reports that concurrent infections could result in responses or even cures of cancer, and exhortations to "stimulate the phagocytes" more than 100 years ago, researchers have sought methods to redirect cytotoxic responses against cells infected with pathogens instead of against cells transformed by somatic mutations. Unfortunately, thus far these hopes have not materialized into major impacts on cancer outcome. Nevertheless, immune-mediated treatments are firmly established within mainstream clinical practice, such as graft-versus leukemia/lymphoma effects, and monoclonal antibodies directed against tumor antigens-for example, rituximab-work, in part, through effects on T cells.