Editorial statement from R.W. Baldwin

Excerpt

In the late 1960s I joined Professor George Mathe (founding editor) to promote Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy (CII) as a leading journal dedicated to advancing the science and clinical practice of cancer immunotherapy. In retrospect this was a considerable challenge, since despite the formative studies in the 1960s on the immunology of experimental animal tumours, the view still prevailed that they had little to do with human disease. A typical quote at this time was 'a human tumour antigen is one not adequately investigated in normal human tissues'! Not surprisingly then, funding for cancer immunology was only given to a few fortunate investigators. But this changed following publication of ground-breaking research in CII and other biomedical journals and the decision in the US National Cancer Act to incorporate tumour immunology in the National War on Cancer (1971). Throughout the 1970s the pace of investigations increased dramatically and led to attempts, now seen as premature, to introduce immunotherapy into cancer treatment. This became a serious issue for CII to ensure publication of well-reviewed papers. It was, therefore, most appropriate that Professor Enrico Mihich of Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, accepted an invitation to become co–editor in chief of the journal in 1980. From this time the coeditors have enjoyed a close working relationship and together with their editorial boards have continued to promote CII. …