Perspectives for immunotherapy in endocrine cancer
- 1Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- 2Endocrine Tumour Center at West German Cancer Center (WTZ), Essen, Germany
- 3Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- 4German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
- Correspondence should be addressed to D Führer; Email: Dagmar.fuehrer{at}uk-essen.de
Abstract
The fight against cancer has seen major breakthroughs in recent years. More than a decade ago, tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting constitutively activated signaling cascades within the tumor inaugurated a new era of oncological therapy. Recently, immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors has started to revolutionize the treatment of several malignancies, most notably malignant melanoma, leading to the renaissance and the long-awaited breakthrough of immunooncology. This review provides an overview of the basis of immunotherapy from its initial concepts of anti-tumor immunity and cell-based therapy to the development of immune checkpoint inhibitors and discusses published studies and the perspectives of immunooncology for the treatment of endocrine malignancies.
- immunooncology
- immune checkpoint blockade
- anti-CTLA-4
- anti-PD-1
- tumor microenvironment
- endocrine and neuroendocrine cancer
- Received 28 June 2016
- Accepted 2 August 2016
- Made available online as an Accepted Preprint 2 August 2016
- © 2016 Society for Endocrinology
