Can we use the immune system to fight cancer?

Our body has a natural defense against diseased cells—the immune system. Tumor immunology investigates how the immune system recognizes tumor cells, how some tumors escape this defense, and how we can use these mechanisms therapeutically.

Tumor immunology investigates the interactions between tumors and the immune system. Healthy immune cells can recognize altered cells as “foreign” and destroy them in a targeted manner—a mechanism known as immune surveillance. However, tumors develop strategies to evade this defense, for example by releasing substances that inhibit immune cells. Modern immunotherapies target this very mechanism and specifically activate the immune system so that it can recognize and fight tumor cells more effectively.

Immunotherapies have revolutionized the treatment of many types of cancer. They rely on the body’s own defenses and can target tumors specifically, often with fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapy.