Tumour immunotherapy: the adjuvant treatment of the 21st century?

In the course of a century, tumour immunology has revealed a picture of a v ery complex immune system involving the recognition and eradication of mali gnancies. Many tumours evade the immune system, and understanding of tumour escape mechanisms is the key to a successful immunotherapy for cancer. A wide array of tumour immunotherapy modalities have been developed, many o f which have reached the phase of clinical trials, with some satisfactory r esults. Based on the available clinical, data and the techniques available for further improvement, we analyse the prospects for the different treatme nt modalities, and predict an important role for tumour immunotherapy in th e near future. (C) 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.