Summary of key facts SARS-CoV-2 was initially detected in December 2019 and is an enveloped, single-stranded RNA virus causing an extremely contagious severe respiratory illness with a high rate of mortality. Whole genome sequencing confirmed COVID-19 to be 79.6% similar…
Summary of key facts Immuno-oncology (IO) is one of the fastest-growing therapeutic areas within oncology. IO agents work indirectly via the host’s adaptive and innate immune systems to recognize and eradicate tumor cells. Current FDA-approved classes of IO agents include…
Summary of key facts The human microbiota is composed of bacteria, viruses, fungi, yeast, protozoa, and archaea. Because of its commensal relationship with the host, it is identified as a functioning organ system. The gut microbiota has been shown to…
Summary of key facts Immune checkpoints are molecular pathways that blunt the antitumor immune response via limiting the creation of cytotoxic T cells and triggering exhaustion of tumor-reactive immune cells. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, especially those targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway, are…
Summary of key facts Cancer vaccines represent a promising strategy to activate immunity in cold tumors. The complexity and heterogeneity of human tumors remains a challenge to developing cancer vaccines. Sipuleucel-T is the first therapeutic vaccine approved for cancer. Cancer…
Summary of key facts The natural history of a human malignancy and its relationship to the host immune system has been described as comprising the “three Es”: elimination, equilibrium, and escape. In order to progress, the tumor needs to escape…
Summary of key facts Receptors of adaptive immune cells and the ensuing signaling networks are exquisitely specific and sensitive to new or altered antigens and thus poised to respond to tumors. The capacity of adaptive immune cells to traffic to…
Summary of key facts The concept of tumor immunosurveillance can be traced back to the early 1900s in association with observations that a potentially overwhelming frequency of carcinomas must be repressed by the immune system. The cancer immunosurveillance hypothesis was…
Summary of key facts Professor Paul Ehrlich is credited with introducing the concept of cancers as non-self and proposing the concept of tumor immune surveillance in 1909. Evidence for tumor immunity was suggested by early animal tumor transplantation experiments carried…
Summary of key facts The innate immune system is the host’s first line of immune defense against challenges of the environment. The innate immune system response is a nonrestricted, rapid response. Innate immunity is required for the establishment of adaptive…