Immunotherapy for cancer: an overview.

Immunotherapy of cancer is of interest to oncologists because it is specifically directed to cancer cells, sparing normal cells. While it is ineffective in most patients, especially those with widespread metastatic disease, it occasionally produces good results. Each of the available methods has inherent problems and, recently, attempts have been made to overcome some of these. There is a strong case for small-scale experimental trials in highly selected groups of patients who are intensively investigated for their immunologic status in relation to their tumour. Despite the lack of success in general, immunotherapy still appears to have a future as an adjunct to existing therapy in order to control as much as to cure residual tumour.