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. 2017 Dec:5:31.
doi: 10.1007/s40137-017-0194-1. Epub 2017 Oct 10.

Immunotherapy for Breast Cancer: Current and Future Strategies

Austin D Williams  1 , Kyle K Payne  2 , Avery D Posey Jr  3   4 , Christine Hill  5 , Jose Conejo-Garcia  5 , Carl H June  3   4 , Julia Tchou  1
Affiliations

Immunotherapy for Breast Cancer: Current and Future Strategies

Austin D Williams et al. Curr Surg Rep. 2017 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose of review: The breast tumor microenvironment is immunosuppressive and is increasingly recognized to play a significant role in tumorigenesis. A deeper understanding of normal and aberrant interactions between malignant and immune cells has allowed researchers to harness the immune system with novel immunotherapy strategies, many of which have shown promise in breast cancer. This review discusses the application of immunotherapy to the treatment of breast cancer.

Recent findings: Both basic science and clinical trial data are rapidly developing in the use of immunotherapy for breast cancer. The current clinical trial landscape includes therapeutic vaccines, immune checkpoint blockade, antibodies, cytokines, and adoptive cell therapy.

Summary: Despite early failures, the application of immunotherapeutic strategies to the treatment of breast cancer holds promise.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Cancer vaccines; Chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR T); Immune checkpoint; Immunotherapy; Oncolytic viruses.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest Dr. June reports grants from Novartis, outside the submitted work; In addition, Dr. June has a patent 9464140, 9161971, 8975071, 8916381, and 8906682, with royalties paid to Novartis. Carl June is a scientific founder of Tmunity Therapeutics, a biotech dedicated to developing engineered T cells for therapy of cancer, infections and autoimmunity. Dr. June has founders stock from Tmunity. Ms. Hill, Drs. Williams, Posey, Conejo-Garcia, Tchou, and Payne declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this manuscript.

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