Immunotherapy for colorectal cancer

Immunologic approaches to therapy for colorectal cancer have evolved substantially. In the past, patients were treated with nonspecific immune stimulants such as bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). The current focus lies in targeting tumor-associated antigens. This is done either through passive immune therapy, with antibodies targeted directly to tumor cells, or by active immune therapy through vaccination with tumor cells, tumor cell lysates, peptides, carbohydrates, gene constructs encoding proteins, or anti-idiotype antibodies that mimic tumor-associated antigens. These different approaches to immunotherapy are reviewed.