Cancer chemotherapy drugs have long
been considered immune suppressive. However, more recent data indicate that
some cytotoxic drugs effectively treat cancer in part by facilitating an immune
response to the tumor when given at the standard dose and schedule. These drugs
induce a form of tumor cell death that is immunologically active, thereby
inducing an adaptive immune response specific for the tumor. In addition,
cancer chemotherapy drugs can promote tumor immunity through ancillary and
largely unappreciated immunologic effects on both the malignant and normal host
cells present within the tumor microenvironment. These more subtle
immunomodulatory effects are dependent on the drug itself, its dose, and its
schedule in relation to an immune-based intervention. The recent approvals of
two new immune-based therapies for prostate cancer and melanoma herald a new
era in cancer treatment and have led to heightened interest in immunotherapy as
a valid approach to cancer treatment. A detailed understanding of the cellular
and molecular basis of interactions between chemotherapy drugs and the immune
system is essential for devising the optimal strategy for integrating new
immune-based therapies into the standard of care for various cancers, resulting
in the greatest long-term clinical benefit for cancer patients.
Source: Chemoimmunotherapy: reengineering
tumor immunity. Chen G, Emens LA. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2013 Feb;62(2):203-16.
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