Therapeutic interventions to harness the immune system against tumor cells have provided mixed results in the past for several solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. However, immunotherapy has advanced considerably over the last decade and is becoming an integral combination for treating patients with advanced solid tumors. In particular, prostate cancer (PCa) immunotherapy has shown modest efficacy for patients in the past. With several key discoveries on immune mechanisms and advanced molecular diagnostic platforms recently, immunotherapy is re-emerging as a viable option for PCa, especially castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), to stimulate anti-tumor immunity. Combination of patient-tailored immunotherapy and immune checkpoint blockers with conventional cytotoxic agents and androgen receptor (AR)-targeted therapies should move the field forward. With a recent adaptation that the application of immune checkpoint inhibitors has been successful in the treatment of more than a dozen solid tumors, including melanoma, lymphoma, liver, cervical, gastrointestinal, and breast cancers, it is a timely endeavor to harness immunotherapy for PCa. Here, we provide an account on the progression of immunotherapy with new discoveries and precision approaches for tumors, in particular CRPC, from mechanistic standpoint to emerging limitations and future directions.
Cancer research. 2020 Feb 17 [Epub ahead of print]
Ha-Ram Cha, Joo Hyoung Lee, Selvarangan Ponnazhagan
McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Samford University., Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham., Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham .