Cancer immunotherapy making headway

Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Harnessing the immune system to more effectively fight diseases has long been adopted and recently made great strides in cancer treatment.

The promise of more specific, less toxic anti-tumour response through immunotherapy and vaccination compared to conventional therapeutics in cancer piqued the interest of researchers and led

to the development of innovative approaches. One approach has been the use of checkpoint inhibitors that eliminate the ‘brakes’ on the immune system that can prevent immune cells from

attacking cancer cells. Another approach is adoptive cell therapy, which involves the use of immune cells that are re-engineered to better recognize cancer cells and attack them. Cancer

vaccines have also been adopted and involve the recognition of tumour antigens as ‘non-self’, ultimately stimulating the immune system to mount an effective anti-tumour response. However, a

series of clinical trials have highlighted the need for caution and selectivity in their use due to the risks associated with autoimmunity and off-target toxicity. We asked experts in the

field of immunotherapy and vaccine development to offer their opinion on new and existing therapeutics, as well as the challenges and successes in clinical use. In particular, they discuss

the use of innovative materials in vaccine development and how they can enhance the potency and safety of vaccines. Moreover, they also discuss the innovative approaches in the use of

adoptive cell therapies and dendritic cell vaccines that have been employed to generate anti-tumour immunity by activating tumour-specific lymphocytes. Other innovative approaches such as

the generation of an immune-response against multiple tumour antigens by DNA demethylation agents are also discussed as well as the recent clinical trials that highlight the promise of

immunotherapy in treating cancer. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your institution Access Nature and 54 other Nature

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AFFILIATIONS * Nature Materials https://www.nature.com/naturematerials Amos Matsiko Authors * Amos Matsiko View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google

Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Amos Matsiko. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Matsiko, A. Cancer immunotherapy making

headway. _Nature Mater_ 17, 472 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-018-0091-8 Download citation * Published: 23 May 2018 * Issue Date: June 2018 * DOI:

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