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Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery Mar 2019Immunotherapy has become a powerful clinical strategy for treating cancer. The number of immunotherapy drug approvals has been increasing, with numerous treatments in... (Review)
Review
Immunotherapy has become a powerful clinical strategy for treating cancer. The number of immunotherapy drug approvals has been increasing, with numerous treatments in clinical and preclinical development. However, a key challenge in the broad implementation of immunotherapies for cancer remains the controlled modulation of the immune system, as these therapeutics have serious adverse effects including autoimmunity and nonspecific inflammation. Understanding how to increase the response rates to various classes of immunotherapy is key to improving efficacy and controlling these adverse effects. Advanced biomaterials and drug delivery systems, such as nanoparticles and the use of T cells to deliver therapies, could effectively harness immunotherapies and improve their potency while reducing toxic side effects. Here, we discuss these research advances, as well as the opportunities and challenges for integrating delivery technologies into cancer immunotherapy, and we critically analyse the outlook for these emerging areas.
Topics: Animals; Drug Delivery Systems; Humans; Immunotherapy; Nanoparticles; Neoplasms; T-Lymphocytes
PubMed: 30622344
DOI: 10.1038/s41573-018-0006-z -
Cellular & Molecular Immunology Aug 2020Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment and rejuvenated the field of tumor immunology. Several types of immunotherapy, including adoptive cell transfer (ACT)... (Review)
Review
Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment and rejuvenated the field of tumor immunology. Several types of immunotherapy, including adoptive cell transfer (ACT) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), have obtained durable clinical responses, but their efficacies vary, and only subsets of cancer patients can benefit from them. Immune infiltrates in the tumor microenvironment (TME) have been shown to play a key role in tumor development and will affect the clinical outcomes of cancer patients. Comprehensive profiling of tumor-infiltrating immune cells would shed light on the mechanisms of cancer-immune evasion, thus providing opportunities for the development of novel therapeutic strategies. However, the highly heterogeneous and dynamic nature of the TME impedes the precise dissection of intratumoral immune cells. With recent advances in single-cell technologies such as single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and mass cytometry, systematic interrogation of the TME is feasible and will provide insights into the functional diversities of tumor-infiltrating immune cells. In this review, we outline the recent progress in cancer immunotherapy, particularly by focusing on landmark studies and the recent single-cell characterization of tumor-associated immune cells, and we summarize the phenotypic diversities of intratumoral immune cells and their connections with cancer immunotherapy. We believe such a review could strengthen our understanding of the progress in cancer immunotherapy, facilitate the elucidation of immune cell modulation in tumor progression, and thus guide the development of novel immunotherapies for cancer treatment.
Topics: Cancer Vaccines; History, 19th Century; Humans; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors; Immunotherapy; Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating; Neoplasms; Single-Cell Analysis
PubMed: 32612154
DOI: 10.1038/s41423-020-0488-6 -
Seminars in Oncology Nursing Oct 2019This article will outline the link between the immune system and cancer, and provide a historical timeline of immunotherapy developmental milestones. (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
This article will outline the link between the immune system and cancer, and provide a historical timeline of immunotherapy developmental milestones.
DATA SOURCES
Published data and peer reviewed publications/manuscripts, and textbook chapters.
CONCLUSION
Science has provided a greater understanding of the interactions between cancer and the human immune system. As this knowledge has grown, there has been significant progress in the development of clinically effective cancer immunotherapies.
IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE
Nurses' knowledge of the different types of immunity and the interaction of cancer cells with the immune system provides foundational knowledge for understanding cancer immunotherapy. Familiarity with the history of cancer immunotherapy will allow nurses to better comprehend why immunotherapy is now a pillar of cancer treatment that continues to develop. This knowledge will translate to better understanding and provision of care for patients receiving immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer.
Topics: Humans; Immune System; Immunologic Factors; Immunotherapy; Neoplasms; Oncology Nursing
PubMed: 31526550
DOI: 10.1016/j.soncn.2019.08.002 -
Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory... 2009Recent scientific advances have expanded our understanding of the immune system and its response to malignant cells. The clinical goal of tumour immunotherapy is to... (Review)
Review
Recent scientific advances have expanded our understanding of the immune system and its response to malignant cells. The clinical goal of tumour immunotherapy is to provide either passive or active immunity against malignancies by harnessing the immune system to target tumours. Monoclonal antibodies, cytokines, cellular immunotherapy, and vaccines have increasingly become successful therapeutic agents for the treatment of solid and haematological cancers in preclinical models, clinical trials, and practice. In this article, we review recent advances in the immunotherapy of cancer, focusing on new strategies and future perspectives as well as on clinical trials attempting to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapeutic modalities and translate this knowledge into effective cancer therapies.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Immunotherapy; Neoplasms
PubMed: 19650714
DOI: 10.1080/10408360902937809 -
Trends in Cancer Jun 2018Pancreatic cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer mortality in the USA, recently surpassing breast cancer. A key component of pancreatic cancer's lethality is its... (Review)
Review
Pancreatic cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer mortality in the USA, recently surpassing breast cancer. A key component of pancreatic cancer's lethality is its acquired immune privilege, which is driven by an immunosuppressive microenvironment, poor T cell infiltration, and a low mutational burden. Although immunotherapies such as checkpoint blockade or engineered T cells have yet to demonstrate efficacy, a growing body of evidence suggests that orthogonal combinations of these and other strategies could unlock immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer. In this Review article, we discuss promising immunotherapies currently under investigation in pancreatic cancer and provide a roadmap for the development of prevention vaccines for this and other cancers.
Topics: Cancer Vaccines; Humans; Immunotherapy; Pancreatic Neoplasms
PubMed: 29860986
DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2018.04.001 -
CA: a Cancer Journal For Clinicians Mar 2020Cancer immunotherapies, including checkpoint inhibitors and adoptive cell therapy, manipulate the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells. These therapies... (Review)
Review
Cancer immunotherapies, including checkpoint inhibitors and adoptive cell therapy, manipulate the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells. These therapies have the potential to induce durable responses in multiple solid and hematologic malignancies and thus have transformed treatment algorithms for numerous tumor types. Cancer immunotherapies lead to unique toxicity profiles distinct from the toxicities of other cancer therapies, depending on their mechanism of action. These toxicities often require specific management, which can include steroids and immune-modulating therapy and for which consensus guidelines have been published. This review will focus on the toxicities of checkpoint inhibitors and chimeric antigen receptor T cells, including pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management.
Topics: Humans; Immunologic Factors; Immunotherapy; Neoplasms
PubMed: 31944278
DOI: 10.3322/caac.21596 -
Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in... Aug 2020Metastasis, which occurs when cancer cells disseminate from the primary tumor site to other parts of the body, is the primary cause of mortality in patients, and the... (Review)
Review
Metastasis, which occurs when cancer cells disseminate from the primary tumor site to other parts of the body, is the primary cause of mortality in patients, and the recurrence of multiple metastatic tumors is an obstacle to eliminating cancer. Recent clinical studies demonstrated that patients who respond to immunotherapy have longer survival rates with lower metastatic relapse, suggesting that immunotherapy may be one of the solutions to overcome cancer metastasis. Indeed, various host immune cells not only shape the tumor microenvironment but also participate in multiple stages of metastasis. Therefore, to improve clinical outcome, it is critical to understand the immunological events associated with tumor development and progression. In this article, we summarize those events that are involved in tumor progression and discuss immunotherapies that can potentially target cancer metastasis.
Topics: Disease Progression; Immunotherapy; Molecular Targeted Therapy; Neoplasm Metastasis; Neoplasms; Tumor Microenvironment
PubMed: 31615865
DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a036863 -
Trends in Cancer Jul 2019Cancer immunotherapy aims to arm patients with cancer-fighting immunity. Many new cancer-specific immunotherapeutic drugs have gained approval in the past several years,... (Review)
Review
Cancer immunotherapy aims to arm patients with cancer-fighting immunity. Many new cancer-specific immunotherapeutic drugs have gained approval in the past several years, demonstrating immunotherapy's efficacy and promise as an anticancer modality. Despite these successes, several outstanding questions remain for cancer immunotherapy, including how to make immunotherapy more efficacious in a broader range of cancer types and patients, and how to predict which patients will respond or not respond to therapy. We present a case for integrative systems approaches that will answer these questions. This involves applying mechanistic and statistical modeling, establishing consistent and widely adopted experimental tools to generate systems-level data, and creating sustained mechanisms of support. If implemented, these approaches will lead to major advances in cancer treatment.
Topics: Combined Modality Therapy; Computational Biology; Disease Susceptibility; Humans; Immunotherapy; Immunotherapy, Adoptive; Machine Learning; Models, Theoretical; Neoplasms; Research Design; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 31311655
DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2019.05.010 -
Journal of Immunology Research 2020Until now, three types of well-recognized cancer treatments have been developed, i.e., surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy; these either remove or directly attack... (Review)
Review
Until now, three types of well-recognized cancer treatments have been developed, i.e., surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy; these either remove or directly attack the cancer cells. These treatments can cure cancer at earlier stages but are frequently ineffective for treating cancer in the advanced or recurrent stages. Basic and clinical research on the tumor microenvironment, which consists of cancerous, stromal, and immune cells, demonstrates the critical role of antitumor immunity in cancer development and progression. Cancer immunotherapies have been proposed as the fourth cancer treatment. In particular, clinical application of immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies, in various cancer types represents a major breakthrough in cancer therapy. Nevertheless, accumulating data regarding immune checkpoint inhibitors demonstrate that these are not always effective but are instead only effective in limited cancer populations. Indeed, several issues remain to be solved to improve their clinical efficacy; these include low cancer cell antigenicity and poor infiltration and/or accumulation of immune cells in the cancer microenvironment. Therefore, to accelerate the further development of cancer immunotherapies, more studies are necessary. In this review, we will summarize the current status of cancer immunotherapies, especially cancer vaccines, and discuss the potential problems and solutions for the next breakthrough in cancer immunotherapy.
Topics: Animals; Biomarkers; Cancer Vaccines; Clinical Studies as Topic; Combined Modality Therapy; Disease Management; Disease Susceptibility; Humans; Immunotherapy; Neoplasms; Treatment Outcome; Tumor Escape
PubMed: 33282961
DOI: 10.1155/2020/5825401 -
Cancer Discovery Nov 2018Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer therapy, largely attributed to the success of immune-checkpoint blockade. However, there are subsets of patients across multiple... (Review)
Review
Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer therapy, largely attributed to the success of immune-checkpoint blockade. However, there are subsets of patients across multiple cancers who have not shown robust responses to these agents. A major impediment to progress in the field is the availability of faithful mouse models that recapitulate the complexity of human malignancy and immune contexture within the tumor microenvironment. These models are urgently needed across all malignancies to interrogate and predict antitumor immune responses and therapeutic efficacy in clinical trials. Herein, we seek to review pros and cons of different cancer mouse models, and how they can be used as platforms to predict efficacy and resistance to cancer immunotherapies. Although immunotherapy has shown substantial benefit in the treatment of a variety of malignancies, a key hurdle toward the advancement of these therapies is the availability of immunocompetent preclinical mouse models that recapitulate human disease. Here, we review the evolution of preclinical mouse models and their utility as coclinical platforms for mechanistic interrogation of cancer immunotherapies.
Topics: Animals; Biomedical Research; Disease Models, Animal; Humans; Immunotherapy; Mice; Neoplasms
PubMed: 30309862
DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-18-0044