Journal of internal medicine
-
Several recent developments have hallmarked progress in tumour immunology and immunotherapy. The use of interleukin-2 (IL-2) in cancer patients demonstrated that an immunological manipulation was capable of mediating the regression of established growing cancers in humans. The identification of the genes encoding cancer antigens and the development of means for effectively immunizing patients against these antigens has opened important new avenues of exploration for the development of effective active and cell-transfer immunotherapies for patients with cancer.