The Promise of Immunotherapeutics and Vaccines in the Treatment of Cancer

The Cancer Moonshot aspires to cut the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years by 2047 and improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer. Harnessing the power of the immune system to develop more effective immunotherapeutic strategies can help achieve this ambitious goal. While conventional therapies have been effective in reducing tumor burden, and prolonging overall survival these treatment regimens have not been complete cures and have severe side effects. One of the major reasons for the tumor escape has been the inability of the immune system to control growth and metastasis. The extraordinary discovery of checkpoint inhibitors and the ability of monoclonal antibody therapeutics to target these receptors and enhance cytotoxic T cells, has transformed cancer therapy. Several strategies for activating the immune system to kill tumor cells have been developed. Blocking of inhibitory signals transduced through checkpoint inhibitory receptors is analogous to “releasing the brakes” and enabling the immune system to perform its effector function of killing tumors. In this chapter we describe three specific immuno-therapeutic approaches, (i) immune checkpoint inhibitors, (ii) adoptive immune cell therapy, and (iii) cancer vaccines, with recent advances and the potential for development of personalized therapies.