What are popular immunotherapy approaches?

Current immunotherapeutic research has mainly centered upon understanding and manipulating cell- or molecular-based mechanisms. Cell-based immunotherapy focuses on augmenting the activity and/or potency of immune cells. This can be done by physically manipulating the cell population – for example, by selecting and expanding the most active phenotype, or by using genetic engineering to insert new receptors. Molecular-based immunotherapy methods can involve identifying an optimal combination of signaling molecules to boost in vivo immune function, using selective antibodies to bypass tumor evasion and mark tumor cells for immune effectors, or affixing cytotoxic agents to tumor-selective agents in order to directly induce cell death.¹ Visit our expanded immunotherapy section in our resource center for more information. 

Reference:
1. R. Houot, et al., “T-cell-based Immunotherapy: Adoptive Cell Transfer and Checkpoint Inhibition,” Cancer Immunol Res 3(10):1115-22, 2015.