Immunotherapy of colorectal cancer

Over the last decade, there has been a rapid expansion in the field of tumour immunology. There is now convincing evidence that both the cellular and humoral arms of the immune system are capable of interacting with tumour cells. The most significant advances have been in our understanding of cellular responses and the complex events that lead to T-lymphocyte activation, as well as in the identification of tumour antigens recognised by T-lymphocytes. This knowledge has led to the development of anticancer immunotherapies designed to produce tumour antigen-specific T-cell responses, adding to the earlier antibody or whole-cell vaccine approaches. In addition, new methods have been developed to quantify antigen-specific T-cell responses, and the emergent field of recombinant gene technology has led to an increasing number of novel methods for vaccine delivery. This review will explore these advances, as well as possible future directions, with an emphasis on colorectal cancer.