New biologicals for prostate cancer prevention: Genes, vaccines, and immune-based interventions

For at least 100 years, immunologists have proposed activating the immune s ystem to specifically target and eradicate autologous tumor cells, The idea that tumor cells can be recognized as foreign to the host's immune system is an essential concept of tumor immunology that was first postulated by Pa ul Ehrlich at the turn of the century, Anecdotal reports of spontaneous tum or regression have been presumed to be immunologically mediated. With the a dvent of molecular gene transfer techniques and increased knowledge of the regulation of the immune response, effective methods for harnessing the imm une system as a therapeutic agent are finally being realized. Current resul ts of clinical immune/gene therapy protocols will be reviewed with consider ation towards the concept of cancer prevention. (C) 2001, Elsevier Science Inc.