Future perspectives in cancer immunotherapy

Advances in cancer immunotherapy in recent years, with the success of checkpoint inhibition in particular, have caused a paradigm shift in cancer management. After many years of extensive research, the basic mechanisms behind immune surveillance and tumor evasion have been elucidated and that lead to the development of effective immunotherapeutic strategies. In early clinical trials, remarkable responses have been reported but these involved a minority of patients. On the other hand, with the use of immunotherapeutic agents we witnessed an uncommon toxicity profile and we were faced with different kinetics in clinical responses, as well. In order to address these issues, we need to select the patients that will benefit the most from specific immunotherapeutic modalities, with the use of appropriate biomarkers.