[Antibody and immunotherapy in oncology. Which patients benefit?]

Among the various immunotherapeutic approaches, monoclonal antibodies in particular have acquired clinical relevance. In patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and in breast cancer it has been shown that antibody therapy and chemotherapy are not rival forms of treatment, but that the best clinical response is obtained with a combination of the two. Cellular immunotherapy with lymphokine-activated killer cells, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, allogeneic T-cells and dendritic cells is still in the experimental stage. This is also true of therapeutic vaccination with tumor antigens. The best clinical results of treatment with antibodies or immunotherapy may be expected in patients with minimal residual disease.