Abstract

Numerous innate and adaptive immune effector cells and molecules participate in the recognition and destruction of cancer cells, a process that is known as cancer immunosurveillance. But cancer cells avoid such immunosurveillance through the outgrowth of poorly immunogenic tumour-cell variants (immunoselection) and through subversion of the immune system (immunosubversion). At the early stages of carcinogenesis, cell-intrinsic barriers to tumour development seem to be associated with stimulation of an active antitumour immune response, whereas overt tumour development seems to correlate with changes in the immunogenic properties of tumour cells. The permanent success of treatments for cancer might depend on using immunogenic chemotherapy to re-establish antitumour immune responses.

Author affiliations

1. U805 Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Faculté de Médecine Paris-Sud-Université Paris XI, Institut Gustave-Roussy, 39 rue Camille-Desmoulins, F-94805 Villejuif, France.
2. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique FRE29239, Institut Gustave-Roussy, 39 rue Camille-Desmoulins, F-94805 Villejuif, France.

Correspondence to: Guido Kroemer² Email: kroemer@igr.fr

Published online 15 September 2006

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