The immune system vs. tumors – a complicated relationship

Supplementum 01/2019 Imunoterapie

Prof. RNDr. Václav Hořejší, CSc.

Ústav molekulární genetiky Akademie věd ČR

SUMMARY

Although the immune system is usually much less efficient in defense against tumors as compared to defense against infections, recent discoveries elucidated the causes of this phenomenon and made it possible to improve the efficiency of anti-tumor immune mechanisms. A number of more or less specific tumor antigens have been identified and several mechanisms involved in resistance of tumors to the immune weapons have been discovered. The formulation of tumor immune editing hypothesis and its validation was essential for current understanding of the complex relationship between the tumor and the immune system. The identification of several levels of immunosuppressive mechanisms has been crucial for understanding of the paradoxical phenomenon of immune protection of tumors. Decades of basic research culminated in development of efficient immunotherapeutic approaches which, after further improvements, have the potential to became major tools of anti-tumor therapies.

KEY WORDS

tumor immunotherapy, tumor surveillance, immune editing, tumor antigens