Immunotherapy in prostate cancer: current state and future perspectives

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Cancer Research

Background:

• Metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (PCa) presents a significant therapeutic challenge, remaining largely incurable.
• The tumor microenvironment in prostate cancer complicates the efficacy of immunotherapy.
• Recent advancements have spurred exploration into novel therapeutic strategies for advanced PCa.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the current landscape of immunotherapy for metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer.
• To analyze the interplay between the prostate tumor microenvironment and the cancer immunity cycle.
• To consolidate evidence for various immunotherapy agents and discuss future directions.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of current evidence on immunotherapy for prostate cancer.
• Analysis of the cancer immunity cycle within the context of the prostate tumor microenvironment.
• Consolidation of data on diverse immunotherapy classes.

Main Results:

• Various immunotherapy agents show promise, including vaccines (dendritic cell, viral vector, DNA/mRNA based), immune checkpoint inhibitors, CAR T-cell therapy, radioimmunotherapy, antibody-drug conjugates, and bispecific antibodies.
• The prostate tumor microenvironment presents unique hurdles for immunotherapy efficacy.
• Significant research efforts have been dedicated to exploring these therapeutic avenues over the past decade.

Conclusions:

• Immunotherapy offers potential avenues for treating metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer.
• Understanding and overcoming the challenges posed by the prostate tumor microenvironment is crucial for treatment success.
• Combinatorial approaches represent a promising future direction for combating advanced prostate cancer.