Immunotherapy for malignant tumors with focus on toll‐like receptors

Abstract One in three Japanese people will develop cancer during their lifetime and cancer is the leading cause of death in Japan, with prognosis known to worsen with development of distant metastasis. Recently, immunotherapy treatment for cancer has become established and shown to be more effective with fewer side effects as compared to other therapeutic options. As a result, toll‐like receptors (TLRs), which recognize molecules derived from many types of pathogens and activate the intra‐vital immune system, have become new targets for cancer immunotherapy treatment. In the present review, we provide an outline of immunotherapy procedures with a focus on TLRs.