Cancer Summit

Cancer Immunology

Cancer immunology is a branch of immunology that focuses on the interactions between the immune system and cancer cells. Immune cells, such as T cells and natural killer (NK) cells, are able to recognize and destroy cancer cells. However, cancer cells can develop a variety of mechanisms to evade immune recognition and destruction, such as by downregulating the expression of molecules that are recognized by immune cells or by secreting immunosuppressive molecules.

Cancer immunology seeks to understand these mechanisms and develop strategies to overcome them. This can involve the development of immunotherapies, which are treatments that harness the power of the immune system to target cancer cells. Immunotherapies  include monoclonal antibodies, which are also known as engineered proteins that target specific molecules on the cancer cells, as well as cell-based therapies, as a example CAR-T cell therapy, which includes genetically engineering a patient's own T cells to target and destroy specific cancer cells.