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Oiseth et al. J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2017;3:250-61 Journal of
DOI: 10.20517/2394-4722.2017.41
Cancer Metastasis and Treatment

www.jcmtjournal.com
Topic: Cancer Immunotherapy Open Access

Cancer immunotherapy: a brief review of the

history, possibilities, and challenges ahead

Stanley J. Oiseth, Mohamed S. Aziz

Department of Pathology, American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Cupecoy, St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles.
Correspondence to: Dr. Stanley J. Oiseth, Department of Pathology, American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, 1 University Drive
at Jordan Road, Cupecoy, St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles. E-mail: soiseth@aucmed.edu
How to cite this article: Oiseth SJ, Aziz MS. Cancer immunotherapy: a brief review of the history, possibilities, and challenges ahead. J Cancer
Metastasis Treat 2017;3:250-61.

ABSTRACT
Article history: The knowledge that the body possesses natural defenses to combat cancer existed long before
Received: 12 Jun 2017 the modern period, with multiple anecdotal reports of tumors miraculously disappearing,
Accepted: 2 Oct 2017 sometimes spontaneously or after a febrile or infectious episode. Spontaneous tumor regression
Published: 31 Oct 2017 of untreated malignant tumors is currently a well-accepted albeit rare phenomenon, and it is
recognized that immunosuppression is associated with a higher cancer risk. The treatment
Key words: of bladder carcinoma by intravesical administration of live attenuated Bacillus Calmette-
Cancer immunotherapy, Guérin bacteria was shown to be very effective in 1976 and is now standard treatment.
immune checkpoint inhibitors, Effective immunity against cancer involves complex interactions between the tumor, the
PD-1, host, and the environment. Cancer immunotherapy uses various strategies to augment tumor
programmed death-ligand 1, immunity and represents a paradigm shift in treating cancer, since attention has become
cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated more focused on the “biologic passport” of the individual tumor rather than the site of origin
antigen-4, of the tumor. The different types of cancer immunotherapies discussed here include biologic
adoptive cell therapy, modifiers, such as cytokines and vaccines, adoptive cell therapies, oncolytic viruses, and
cancer vaccines, antibodies against immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as the co-inhibitory T-cell receptor
oncolytic viruses, PD-1 and one of its ligands, programmed death-ligand 1.
history of cancer immunology

INTRODUCTION some malignancies to date , it is difficult to not be very
[1]
excited about their potential. In a recent meta-analysis of
Cancer immunotherapy (CI) is rapidly advancing ipilimumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets cytotoxic
and can now be considered to be the “fifth pillar” of T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4), a type of
cancer therapy, joining the ranks of surgery, cytotoxic immune checkpoint receptor or negative regulator of
chemotherapy, radiation, and targeted therapy. The CI T-cell immune function, more than 20% of patients with
which has sparked the most interest involves antibodies metastatic melanoma who received a single round of
to inhibitory immune checkpoint molecules. Although treatment were alive 10 years later with no evidence of
they have produced dramatic results in only a subset of disease . Before this treatment, the 10-year survival
[2]
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