Immunotherapy Overview

Principles

Definition

Immunotherapy is a therapeutic approach that leverages and modulates the body's immune system to treat diseases. As a research field, it investigates methods to activate, suppress, or otherwise manipulate immune responses for clinical benefit, particularly in oncology and the management of autoimmune conditions, representing a significant advancement in targeted medical interventions.

Ontological type

Mechanisms of Action

Core Modalities

Clinical Indications

Key developments

Key Figures

Antibody and Cell Foundations era

César Milstein [1] conducted foundational work during this era at San Raffaele University of Rome [3] and the University of Cambridge [4]. His key contribution, demonstrated in Continuous cultures of fused cells secreting antibody of predefined specificity [7], established a practical route to antibodies with definable specificity that underpinned antigen-specific immunotherapies in this era. Steven A. Rosenberg [2] worked with Harvard University [5] and Johns Hopkins University [6] during this era. His landmark contributions include the adoption of lymphokine-activated killer cells and interleukin-2 therapies as reported in A Progress Report on the Treatment of 157 Patients with Advanced Cancer Using Lymphokine-Activated Killer Cells and Interleukin-2 or High-Dose Interleukin-2 Alone [8], Observations on the Systemic Administration of Autologous Lymphokine-Activated Killer Cells and Recombinant Interleukin-2 to Patients with Metastatic Cancer [9], and Use of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes and Interleukin-2 in the Immunotherapy of Patients with Metastatic Melanoma [10], collectively illustrating how cellular immunotherapies advanced patient care in this era.

Control of T‑cell Activation era

Ronald Levy [1], with affiliations at Harvard University [3] and Stanford University [4] during this era, helped shape immunotherapy approaches to control T-cell activation. Levy's key contributions in this era include rituximab anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody therapies for relapsed indolent lymphomas, as exemplified by Rituximab chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody therapy for relapsed indolent lymphoma [6] and IDEC-C2B8 (Rituximab) Anti-CD20 Monoclonal Antibody Therapy in Patients With Relapsed Low-Grade Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma [7], which demonstrated meaningful responses and helped establish antibody-based immune manipulation as a bridge to T‑cell–focused strategies. F. Stephen Hodi [2], with ties to Harvard University [3] and the University of Pennsylvania [5], contributed to the quantitative assessment and clinical evaluation of immune therapies during this era. His work included the Guidelines for the Evaluation of Immune Therapy Activity in Solid Tumors: Immune-Related Response Criteria [8] and Vaccination with irradiated autologous melanoma cells engineered to secrete human granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor generates potent antitumor immunity in patients with metastatic melanoma [9], which collectively advanced standardized response assessment and antigen-presenting vaccine strategies in clinical testing.

Precision Engineered Immunotherapy era

F. Stephen Hodi [1], a leading immunotherapy investigator at Harvard University [3] and the University of California, San Francisco [4] in this era, helped shape precision-guided cancer immunotherapy. His contributions include advancing Safety, Activity, and Immune Correlates of Anti–PD-1 Antibody in Cancer [6], Combined Nivolumab and Ipilimumab or Monotherapy in Untreated Melanoma [7], and Five-Year Survival with Combined Nivolumab and Ipilimumab in Advanced Melanoma [8], which collectively highlighted PD-1 blockade's activity and the promise of combination regimens in melanoma [6][7][8]. Jedd D. Wolchok [2], affiliated with Rockefeller University [5] and the University of California, San Francisco [4], contributed to the melanoma paradigm with Nivolumab plus Ipilimumab in Advanced Melanoma [9] and continued to advance combination strategies exemplified by the 2015 untreated melanoma trial [7] and the 2019 five-year survival data [8]. Together, their work embodies the era's biomarker-guided, engineered-lymphocyte-and-checkpoint strategy by validating PD-1–axis therapies [6] and informing patient selection and rational combinations across precision immunotherapy [6][7][8][9].