The Immunobiology of Cancer: From Tumor Escape to Cancer Immunoediting Towards Immunotherapy in Gynecologic Oncology
The immune system is known to play a pivotal role in cancer pathogenesis.
In a dynamic balance between immune system and cancer cells, the first one recognizes
the second as non-self and effectively clears them from the system. This phenomenon,
called immune surveillance, is based on the interaction between antigen
presenting cells and T lymphocytes that get activated eliciting a specific and enduring
response. In certain circumstances, tumor cells are able to evade this mechanism
allowing the tumor to develop. This mechanism is called tumor escape.