Abstract
Cancer patients often exhibit immunosuppression that is caused by the expanding tumor mass. This fact has severely compromised many efforts to develop effective cancer vaccines in the past. However, a new generation of immunotherapies takes focus on both activating the effector cells of the immune system as well as reverting the immunosuppression. This two-step process has lead to impressive anti-tumor effects both in experimental settings as well as in initial clinical trials. With new and powerful techniques for genetic engineering, the transfer of immunostimulating genes has gained interest. Genetic engineering of the tumor micromilieu has, for example, shown to be an effective means for breaking tumor-induced immunosuppression in an experimental model of bladder cancer. Genetic engineering can also be used to modify the immune effector cells to efficiently target tumor cells and to simultaneously resist immune inhibition. This review will discuss the immunological status of cancer patients with focus on T regulatory cells and their inhibitory cytokines as well as offer a survey of novel immune strategies for cancer gene therapy.
Keywords: Gene therapy, cancer vaccine, genetic engineering, immunotherapy, DC vaccine, T regulatory cells
Current Cancer Therapy Reviews
Title: Genetic Engineering - A New Era for Cancer Immunotherapy?
Volume: 3 Issue: 3
Author(s): Angelica Loskog and Thomas H. Totterman
Affiliation:
Keywords: Gene therapy, cancer vaccine, genetic engineering, immunotherapy, DC vaccine, T regulatory cells
Abstract: Cancer patients often exhibit immunosuppression that is caused by the expanding tumor mass. This fact has severely compromised many efforts to develop effective cancer vaccines in the past. However, a new generation of immunotherapies takes focus on both activating the effector cells of the immune system as well as reverting the immunosuppression. This two-step process has lead to impressive anti-tumor effects both in experimental settings as well as in initial clinical trials. With new and powerful techniques for genetic engineering, the transfer of immunostimulating genes has gained interest. Genetic engineering of the tumor micromilieu has, for example, shown to be an effective means for breaking tumor-induced immunosuppression in an experimental model of bladder cancer. Genetic engineering can also be used to modify the immune effector cells to efficiently target tumor cells and to simultaneously resist immune inhibition. This review will discuss the immunological status of cancer patients with focus on T regulatory cells and their inhibitory cytokines as well as offer a survey of novel immune strategies for cancer gene therapy.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Angelica Loskog and Thomas H. Totterman , Genetic Engineering - A New Era for Cancer Immunotherapy?, Current Cancer Therapy Reviews 2007; 3 (3) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/157339407781368341
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/157339407781368341 |
Print ISSN 1573-3947 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1875-6301 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Current progress in Protein Degradation and Cancer Therapy
argeted Protein Degradation is gaining momentum in cancer therapy, it facilitate targeting undruggable proteins, it overcome cancer resistance and avoid undesirable side effects. Thus small molecules degraders have emerged as novel therapeutic strategy. Targeted protein degradation (TPD), the process of eliminating a protein of interest hold a great promise for ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
Related Articles
-
Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Antagonist as an Angiogenic Inhibitor in Urogenital Cancer
Reviews on Recent Clinical Trials A Common Biological Mechanism in Cancer and Alzheimers Disease?
Current Alzheimer Research Relevance of the Chronobiological and Non-chronobiological Actions of Melatonin for Enhancing Therapeutic Efficacy in Neurodegenerative Disorders
Recent Patents on Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Drug Discovery Recent Patents on Genes and Gene Sequences Useful for Developing Breast Cancer Detection Systems
Recent Patents on DNA & Gene Sequences Intravesical Therapy of Superficial Bladder Cancer
Current Pharmaceutical Design An Overview of Emerging Immunotargets of Genitourinary Tumors
Current Drug Targets Metabolism and the Paradoxical Effects of Arsenic: Carcinogenesis and Anticancer
Current Medicinal Chemistry Molecular and Genetic Bases of Pancreatic Cancer
Current Drug Targets Macromolecular Drug Targets in Cancer Treatment and Thiosemicarbazides as Anticancer Agents
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Emerging Role of Wnt/Beta-Catenin Signalling Pathways in Cancer Progression and Role of Small Molecule Tankyrase Inhibitors in Combating Multistage Cancers
Current Cancer Therapy Reviews A Simple and Reliable Approach for Assessing Anticancer Activity In Vitro
Current Medicinal Chemistry Phenolic Compounds: the Role of Redox Regulation in Neurodegenerative Disease and Cancer
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry New Features in the Treatment of Androgen-Independent Prostate Cancer
Current Pharmaceutical Design Protein Kinase C as a Drug Target Implications for Drug or Diet Prevention and Treatment of Cancer
Current Drug Targets Tobacco, Inflammation, and Respiratory Tract Cancer
Current Pharmaceutical Design Current State of ERG as Biomarker in Prostatic Adenocarcinoma
Current Cancer Drug Targets Therapeutic Application of Natural Medicine Monomers in Cancer Treatment
Current Medicinal Chemistry Immunotherapy with Tumor Vaccines for the Treatment of Malignant Gliomas
Current Drug Discovery Technologies Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors and Anticancer Therapy
Current Medicinal Chemistry - Anti-Cancer Agents Suppression of Cancer Invasiveness by Dietary Compounds
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry