Harnessing the immune system to control cancer

Cancer derives from mutant oncogenic cells, which tend to thrive within immunocompromised individuals. As the basic research on cancer goes deeper, the knowledge of the existence of a variety of antitumor components is gradually revealed. Cells including NK cells, dendritic cells, B cells and T cells, and their associated immune molecules such as cytokines, ligands and antibodies, all showed particular anti-tumor effects. At the same time, immunosuppressive cells such as regular T cells, tumor associated macrophages, regulatory DCs and myeloid derived suppressive cells, and their corresponding secretory factors were revealed to suppress anti-tumor effects. These basic research findings suggest that harnessing the immune system in the right ways might control cancer.