Dang Yushe, Disis Mary L
Tumor Vaccine Group, Center for Translational Medicine in Women's Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Sep;1174:81-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04937.x.
The identification of immunologic biomarkers associated with clinical response after immune intervention for cancer is an area of intensive investigation. The field would benefit from a more systemic and directed approach for biomarker identification and evaluation. Lessons can be learned from other fields, such as cancer diagnostics, as to how to develop response-associated biomarkers. Studies in both human in vitro models as well as murine models of cancer can significantly inform and streamline the choice of candidates. Adoptive T-cell therapy is an interesting model for exploring potential immunologic surrogates that may predict clinical response. Most likely the clinical effectiveness of immune-based treatments will be predicted by panels of markers rather than single assays of a specific immune effector cell.
