How Cancers Escape Immune Destruction and Mechanisms of Action for the New Significantly Active Immune Therapies: Helping Nonimmunologists Decipher Recent Advances

Oncologists have tremendous experience with therapies that target the cancer cells. New biologic agents have been rapidly introduced recently that target not cancer cells, but the patient's immune cells. The mechanisms of action of these immune-based biologic agents are within the host immune system. To understand these new biologic therapies, basic knowledge of normal and abnormal immune function is essential. The present report explains the up-to-date basic immune normal and abnormal function and prepares the oncologist to understand how the new drugs work, why they work, and why there are associated adverse events.