Cancer Immunotherapy Principles and Practice

This book focuses on converging concepts and peculiarities relevant to the relationship between the host and the neoplastic tissue. It aims at guiding the neophyte through a critical interpretation of upcoming results based on a solid understanding of anticancer immunotherapy concepts within the context of alternative treatments and the potential for their combinations. The book is primarily targeted at young basic and clinical investigators but open to all other constituencies. It brings together cutting-edge insight that every translational investigator and practicing clinician needs to know about tumor immunology and immunotherapy. The textbook is divided into five sections. The first section, comprising thirteen chapters, presents the basic principles of tumor immunology such as systems biology of T cells, activation of CD4 + T lymphocytes, regulation of cell-mediated immunity, role of Breg cells in modulating the antitumor immune response, innate immune system, and the role of the tumor microenvironment. The second section, consisting of ten chapters, deals with cancer immunotherapy targets and classes such as cancer vaccines, T cell modulatory cytokines, adoptive T cell transfer, and oncolytic viruses. The next section, comprising fourteen chapters discusses immune function in cancer patients. Section four, consisting of fourteen chapters, presents disease-specific treatments and outcomes such as immunotherapy for melanoma, genitourinary malignancies, gastrointestinal cancers, hepatocellular carcinoma, gynecologic malignancies, breast cancer, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, hematologic malignancies, brain tumors, sarcomas, and pediatric cancers. The final section discusses the regulatory aspects of cancer immunotherapy covering chemistry, manufacturing and control, and preclinical and clinical considerations for cell therapy and gene therapy-based immunotherapy products for human clinical trials, and regulatory considerations for in vitro diagnostic devices. In addition, the book also presents a chapter on the history of immunotherapy.