Immunology of cancer

Abstract

A central principle of tumor immunology is that cancer can be prevented or controlled by a host immune response. Thus, a significant corollary is that the progression of cancer represents, in some measure, a failure of the host immune system to control cancer growth. In the lay community, it is commonly accepted that immunological control of cancer is possible, but the medical community has traditionally been more skeptical. Increasingly, however, host-tumor interactions that affect the progression of cancer are being defined, and clinical trials are providing evidence for the benefit of immunological therapies. © 2008 Springer New York.