Redefining cancer immunotherapy—optimization, personalization, and new predictive biomarkers: 4th Cancer Immunotherapy and Immunomonitoring (CITIM) meeting, April 27–30, 2015, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Excerpt

It has become increasingly accepted that the immune system plays a key role in controlling malignant growth and dissemination, and in many cases, it is able to eradicate cancer. Immunotherapy aimed at increasing natural anti-tumor immunity eliminating immune escape variants and overcoming tumor-induced immunosuppression has been the focus of significant research efforts over the past two decades and remains at the center of attention of basic and clinical immunologists and medical oncologists. Different strategies to boost anti-tumor immunity in many types of cancer have been developed with overall marginal clinical improvement. However, the recent advances in the T cell-based therapy and in cancer treatment with antibodies blocking immune checkpoints proved that immunotherapy is experiencing a major breakthrough and should be re-evaluated as an important treatment modality for cancer. …