Invariant NKT cell-based immunotherapy for lung cancer and head and neck cancer.

CD1d-restricted invariant natural killer T (iNKI) cells are the unique lymphocyte subpopu- lation that interacts with glycolipid via the invariant T cell receptor. Ligand activated iNKT cells produce a variety of cytokines, and thus bridging the innate and adaptive immune sys- tems. Since recent studies have highlighted iNKT cells to have potent anti-tumor effects, greater attention are being given to the development of iNKT cell-based immunotherapy for advanced solid tumors. This article summarizes the progress of our recent works on active immunotherapies aiming at the augmentation of iNKT cell function in vivo in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, and discusses the role of iNKT cell-induced immune responses in cancer immunotherapy.