Where is the immunology in cancer?

Whether the common human cancers possess tumour-specific antigens which produce an immune response in the host still remains the crucial question in tumour immunology. Recent reports and discussions at the Third International Congress of Immunology suggested that much of the previously published work was not valid. The reasons for this have been analysed by comparing the well-established experimental data with human cancer. It is suggested that much of the current confusion in tumour immunology stems from the poor models used to study human cancer and the inadequate assessment of in vitro assays which have measured the host response. The present methods require refinement, or new techniques need to be developed, before this question can be answered. The field has been well researched, and there do not appear to be any recent major advances in tumour immunology which can be applied in clinical practice.