Tumors that become clinically apparent have invariably developed ways to escape immune control. The mechanisms of escape are multiple and diverse and do not necessarily require the loss by tumor cells of expression of antigens recognized by the immune system. More commonly, tumor-specific T cells are rendered dysfunctional by a number of soluble and cell surface-bound molecules that are produced or modified by the action of cancer cells or suppressive and regulatory immune cells recruited to the tumor. Overall, the obstacles that prevent tumor rejection are active at several levels, affecting T-cell priming, functional differentiation, recruitment to the tumor, survival and effectors’ function inside the tumor. The multifaceted nature of these immunosuppressive networks represents a formidable obstacle to the success of immunotherapy. Nevertheless, the recent achievements of therapeutics targeting key checkpoint receptors highlight the great potential of strategies that are based on selective disruption of immunosuppressive networks.

This monograph, for the first time, presents a comprehensive overview of different mechanisms of immune dysfunction in cancer as well as therapeutic approaches to their correction. It discusses a number of new mechanisms that have never been discussed in a monograph before: T-cell inhibitory molecules, regulatory tolerogenic DCs, and signaling pathways in antigen-presenting cells involved in T-cell tolerance. There is now a pressing need to discuss the already described and newly emerging mechanisms to see how they can be put together in a more or less cohesive structure and how they can help to improve immune response to tumors.

This book provides readers an extensive overview of recent progress in basic and clinical research on cancer immunotherapy. Thanks to rapid advances in molecular biology and immunology, it has become increasingly evident that cancer growth is influenced by host immune responses. With the success of a number of clinical trials, immunotherapy has become a promising treatment modality of cancer. This book covers five major topics, including monoclonal antibodies, biological response modifiers, cancer vaccines, adoptive cellular therapy and oncolytic viruses. It also examines the combination of different immune strategies as well as the combination of immunotherapy with other treatments to increase anti-tumor effects. Through the comprehensive discussion of the topic, the book sheds valuable new light on the treatment of tumors.

This volume examines in detail the role of chronic inflammatory processes in the development of several types of cancer. Leading experts describe the latest results of molecular and cellular research on infection, cancer-related inflammation and tumorigenesis. Further, the clinical significance of these findings in preventing cancer progression and approaches to treating the diseases are discussed. Individual chapters cover cancer of the lung, colon, breast, brain, head and neck, pancreas, prostate, bladder, kidney, liver, cervix and skin as well as gastric cancer, sarcoma, lymphoma, leukemia and multiple myeloma.

In this book we provide insights into liver – cancer and immunology. Experts in the field provide an overview over fundamental immunological questions in liver cancer and tumorimmunology, which form the base for immune based approaches in HCC, which gain increasing interest in the community due to first promising results obtained in early clinical trials. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer related death in the United States. Treatment options are limited. Viral hepatitis is one of the major risk factors for HCC, which represents a typical “inflammation-induced” cancer. Immune-based treatment approaches have revolutionized oncology in recent years. Various treatment strategies have received FDA approval including dendritic cell vaccination, for prostate cancer as well as immune checkpoint inhibition targeting the CTLA4 or the PD1/PDL1 axis in melanoma, lung, and kidney cancer. Additionally, cell based therapies (adoptive T cell therapy, CAR T cells and TCR transduced T cells) have demonstrated significant efficacy in patients with B cell malignancies and melanoma. Immune checkpoint inhibitors in particular have generated enormous excitement across the entire field of oncology, providing a significant benefit to a minority of patients.

This book brings together the world’s leading authorities on tumor immunology. This book describes the basic immunology principles that form the foundation of understanding how the immune system recognizes and rejects tumor cells. The role of the innate and adaptive immune responses is discussed and the implications of these responses for the design of clinical strategies to combat cancer are illustrated.