Immuno(onco)therapy – road to the future

Our immune system fi ghts effectively against infections, but the same activity exists against invading cancer cells, as well. However, malignant tumors are able to escape from these mechanisms; therefore tumor cells become unrecognizable for the immune system. Immuno-oncology is a novel and innovative discipline, focusing on a long-term purpose: to enhance the immune-response against malignancies. The main goal is to stimulate the immune system to properly recognize and destroy malignant tumor cells. This approach is comprehensive, includes the initiation of antitumor immune-response and enhancing its controlling mechanisms, moreover, provides active, anti-tumor effector cells. Recent results of anticancer research highlighted a new era of oncology, which is based on targeted, personalized medicine over cytotoxic therapies, and mainly focusing on the rapidly evolving discipline of immuno-oncology.