Immunotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer: present status and new options

Scand J Gastroenterol. 2012 Mar;47(3):315-24. doi: 10.3109/00365521.2012.640831. Epub 2012 Jan 3.

Abstract

Although no immunotherapeutic treatment is approved for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, promising results from clinical trials suggest that several immunotherapeutic strategies may prove efficacious and applicable to this group of patients. This review describes the immunogenicity of CRC and presents the most interesting strategies investigated so far: cancer vaccination including antigen-defined vaccination and dendritic cell vaccination, chemo-immunotherapy, and adoptive cell transfer. Future treatment options as well as the possibility of combining existing therapies will be discussed along with the challenges presented by tumor escape mechanisms.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Antigens, Neoplasm / immunology
  • Cancer Vaccines / immunology*
  • Clinical Trials as Topic
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / immunology*
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Dendritic Cells / immunology
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy / methods*
  • Immunotherapy, Adoptive

Substances

  • Antigens, Neoplasm
  • Cancer Vaccines