A perspective on cancer immunology and immunotherapy

Abstract

The origins of cancer immunology are deeply rooted in the treatment of tumors. References to a relationship between tumor treatment and infection can be found in Chinese scripts dating back over a millennium. It is quite possible that immunologic treatments for cancer predate these ancient descriptions, perhaps into prehistory. Western European accounts of hemorrhagic necrosis of tumors and regressions following infection and high fevers are more than 300 years old. European medical texts describe treatment of tumors with materials coated with infectious pathogens, such as covering tumors with bandages or blankets that had contacted infected sores, and injecting pus from purulent wounds into tumors. However, these early narratives all suffered from the imprecise definition of "tumors" and a lack of pathologic classification. Were these lumps really cancer, or was there some other cause for the swellings that appeared to respond to these manipulations?