Emerging immunologic approaches to treatment of neoplastic diseases.

Recent research on the immunobiology of the tumor-host relationship has demonstrated that nonspecific cellular immune reactions, like natural killer cells and cytotoxic autoreactive cells, may be far more potent antineoplastic mechanisms than specific T lymphocyte cytotoxicity. The hybridoma technique, making it possible to raise monoclonal antibodies against predefined antigens, has rendered passive immunotherapy more attractive. It is suggested that the combination of nonspecific cellular immune reactions with monoclonal antibodies may be a highly efficient antineoplastic therapy for minimal residual disease.