Immunomodulatory cancer therapy is witnessing the rise of viral immunotherapy. The oncolytic influenza A virus, although promising in preclinical investigations, remains to be implemented in clinical practice. Recent progress in genetic engineering, coupled with experiential insights, offers opportunities to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of the influenza A virus. This review explores the use of the influenza virus, its attenuated forms, and associated vaccines in cancer immunotherapy, highlighting their respective advantages and challenges. We further elucidate methods for engineering influenza viruses and innovative approaches to augment them with cytokines or immune checkpoint inhibitors, aiming to maximize their clinical impact. Our goal is to provide insights essential for refining influenza A virus-based viral tumor immunotherapies.
Humans ; Neoplasms/immunology* ; Immunotherapy/trends* ; Influenza A virus/immunology* ; Oncolytic Virotherapy/trends* ; Animals ; Cancer Vaccines/therapeutic use* ; Oncolytic Viruses ; Genetic Engineering ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use*

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is a negative regulatory factor antibody, which activates T cells to play an anti-tumor effect in immunotherapy, and can also cause immune-related adverse responses, thereby inducing a series of immune related adverse events (irAEs). Among these irAEs, although the incidence of ICIs-related myocarditis is very low, the fatality rate is significantly higher than other adverse reactions, close to 50%. Clinicians should be vigilant when applying ICIs, but the pathogenesis of ICIs-related myocarditis is still unclear. This article combines the recent research results of ICIs to summarize the mechanism and clinical manifestations of ICIs-related myocarditis, so as to improve clinicians' understanding of the adverse reactions.
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Biomedical Research/trends* ; Cardiotoxicity/physiopathology* ; Humans ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Immunotherapy/adverse effects* ; Myocarditis/physiopathology* ; Neoplasms/drug therapy*

Strategies in comprehensive therapy for gastrointestinal (GI) cancer have been optimized in the last decades to improve patients' outcomes. However, treatment options remain limited for late-stage or refractory diseases. The efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for treatment of refractory GI cancer has been confirmed by randomized clinical trials. In 2017, pembrolizumab was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as the first agent for treatment of metastatic solid tumors with mismatch repair deficiency, especially for colorectal cancer. Given the different mechanisms, oncologists have focused on determining whether ICIs-based combination strategies could achieve higher efficacy than conventional therapy alone in late-stage or even front-line treatment of GI cancer. This review discusses the current status of combining immune checkpoint inhibitors with molecular targeted therapy, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy in GI cancer in terms of mechanisms, safety, and efficacy to provide basis for future research.
Combined Modality Therapy ; methods ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms ; immunology ; therapy ; Humans ; Immunotherapy ; methods ; trends ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Programmed death 1/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) inhibitor has become one of the important treatment options for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, only a small subset of patients with NSCLC can currently receive single-agent PD-1 inhibitors as first-line therapy, for the limitations of population selection exclude most patients from immuno-oncology (IO) monotherapy. In order to expand the candidate population for IO first-line treatment and make more newly diagnosed patients benefit from IO treatment, a series of studies are focusing on the combination of IO and other drugs in NSCLC. We reviewed the latest clinical data of IO first-line combination therapy in recent years, suggesting that on the basis of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, combined with other IO, chemotherapy, anti-angiogenic drugs, targeted therapy or radiotherapy may produce synergistic anti-tumor effects. It is expected to benefit more newly diagnosed patients.
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Animals ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; immunology ; therapy ; Humans ; Immunotherapy ; methods ; trends ; Lung Neoplasms ; immunology ; therapy

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC), which accounts for about 15% of lung cancer cases, is an aggressive disease characterized by rapid growth and early widespread metastasis. Despite sensitive to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, SCLC is vulnerable to get resistant and has high recurrence rates. In recent years, immunotherapy has shown good antitumor activity, especially programmed death receptor-1/ligand-L1 (PD-1/L1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) Checkpoint inhibitors have changed the pattern of tumor treatment, and SCLC has high immunogenicity, high mutation load and other favorable immune factors, so immuno-checkpoint inhibitors may become an important breakthrough in SCLC treatment. This article will briefly review the clinical research of immunotherapy for small cell lung cancer.
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Humans ; Immunologic Factors ; genetics ; immunology ; Immunotherapy ; methods ; trends ; Lung Neoplasms ; genetics ; immunology ; therapy ; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor ; genetics ; immunology ; Small Cell Lung Carcinoma ; genetics ; immunology ; therapy

In 2015, fourteen topics were selected as major research advances in gynecologic oncology. For ovarian cancer, high-level evidence for annual screening with multimodal strategy which could reduce ovarian cancer deaths was reported. The best preventive strategies with current status of evidence level were also summarized. Final report of chemotherapy or upfront surgery (CHORUS) trial of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced stage ovarian cancer and individualized therapy based on gene characteristics followed. There was no sign of abating in great interest in immunotherapy as well as targeted therapies in various gynecologic cancers. The fifth Ovarian Cancer Consensus Conference which was held in November 7–9 in Tokyo was briefly introduced. For cervical cancer, update of human papillomavirus vaccines regarding two-dose regimen, 9-valent vaccine, and therapeutic vaccine was reviewed. For corpus cancer, the safety concern of power morcellation in presumed fibroids was explored again with regard to age and prevalence of corpus malignancy. Hormone therapy and endometrial cancer risk, trabectedin as an option for leiomyosarcoma, endometrial cancer and Lynch syndrome, and the radiation therapy guidelines were also discussed. In addition, adjuvant therapy in vulvar cancer and the updated of targeted therapy in gynecologic cancer were addressed. For breast cancer, palbociclib in hormone-receptor-positive advanced disease, oncotype DX Recurrence Score in low-risk patients, regional nodal irradiation to internal mammary, supraclavicular, and axillary lymph nodes, and cavity shave margins were summarized as the last topics covered in this review.
Biomedical Research/*trends ; Breast Neoplasms/therapy ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Dioxoles ; Endometrial Neoplasms/therapy ; Female ; Genital Neoplasms, Female/genetics/*therapy ; Humans ; Immunotherapy ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Ovarian Neoplasms/prevention & control/therapy ; Papillomavirus Vaccines ; Precision Medicine ; Tetrahydroisoquinolines ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/prevention & control/therapy/virology ; Uterine Neoplasms/therapy

Toxoplasmosis is an opportunistic infection caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. T. gondii is widespread globally and causes severe diseases in individuals with impaired immune defences as well as congenitally infected infants. The high prevalence rate in some parts of the world such as South America and Africa, coupled with the current drug treatments that trigger hypersensitivity reactions, makes the development of immunotherapeutics intervention a highly important research priority. Immunotherapeutics strategies could either be a vaccine which would confer a pre-emptive immunity to infection, or passive immunization in cases of disease recrudescence or recurrent clinical diseases. As the severity of clinical manifestations is often greater in developing nations, the development of well-tolerated and safe immunotherapeutics becomes not only a scientific pursuit, but a humanitarian enterprise. In the last few years, much progress has been made in vaccine research with new antigens, novel adjuvants, and innovative vaccine delivery such as nanoparticles and antigen encapsulations. A literature search over the past 5 years showed that most experimental studies were focused on DNA vaccination at 52%, followed by protein vaccination which formed 36% of the studies, live attenuated vaccinations at 9%, and heterologous vaccination at 3%; while there were few on passive immunization. Recent progress in studies on vaccination, passive immunization, as well as insights gained from these immunotherapeutics is highlighted in this review.
Drug Discovery/trends ; Global Health ; Humans ; Immunization/*methods ; Immunotherapy/*methods/trends ; Protozoan Vaccines/immunology/isolation & purification ; Toxoplasma/*immunology ; Toxoplasmosis/*therapy

To date, more than 30 antibodies have been approved worldwide for therapeutic use. While the monoclonal antibody market is rapidly growing, the clinical use of therapeutic antibodies is mostly limited to treatment of cancers and immunological disorders. Moreover, antibodies against only five targets (TNF-alpha, HER2, CD20, EGFR, and VEGF) account for more than 80 percent of the worldwide market of therapeutic antibodies. The shortage of novel, clinically proven targets has resulted in the development of many distinct therapeutic antibodies against a small number of proven targets, based on the premise that different antibody molecules against the same target antigen have distinct biological and clinical effects from one another. For example, four antibodies against TNF-alpha have been approved by the FDA -- infliximab, adalimumab, golimumab, and certolizumab pegol -- with many more in clinical and preclinical development. The situation is similar for HER2, CD20, EGFR, and VEGF, each having one or more approved antibodies and many more under development. This review discusses the different binding characteristics, mechanisms of action, and biological and clinical activities of multiple monoclonal antibodies against TNF-alpha, HER-2, CD20, and EGFR and provides insights into the development of therapeutic antibodies.
Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal/*pharmacology/therapeutic use ; Antigens, CD20/immunology ; Drug Discovery ; Humans ; Immune System Diseases/*drug therapy/immunology ; *Immunotherapy/trends ; *Molecular Targeted Therapy ; Neoplasms/*drug therapy/immunology ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor/immunology ; Receptor, erbB-2/immunology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/immunology ; United States ; United States Food and Drug Administration ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/immunology

To date, more than 30 antibodies have been approved worldwide for therapeutic use. While the monoclonal antibody market is rapidly growing, the clinical use of therapeutic antibodies is mostly limited to treatment of cancers and immunological disorders. Moreover, antibodies against only five targets (TNF-alpha, HER2, CD20, EGFR, and VEGF) account for more than 80 percent of the worldwide market of therapeutic antibodies. The shortage of novel, clinically proven targets has resulted in the development of many distinct therapeutic antibodies against a small number of proven targets, based on the premise that different antibody molecules against the same target antigen have distinct biological and clinical effects from one another. For example, four antibodies against TNF-alpha have been approved by the FDA -- infliximab, adalimumab, golimumab, and certolizumab pegol -- with many more in clinical and preclinical development. The situation is similar for HER2, CD20, EGFR, and VEGF, each having one or more approved antibodies and many more under development. This review discusses the different binding characteristics, mechanisms of action, and biological and clinical activities of multiple monoclonal antibodies against TNF-alpha, HER-2, CD20, and EGFR and provides insights into the development of therapeutic antibodies.
Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal/*pharmacology/therapeutic use ; Antigens, CD20/immunology ; Drug Discovery ; Humans ; Immune System Diseases/*drug therapy/immunology ; *Immunotherapy/trends ; *Molecular Targeted Therapy ; Neoplasms/*drug therapy/immunology ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor/immunology ; Receptor, erbB-2/immunology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/immunology ; United States ; United States Food and Drug Administration ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/immunology

Nanoparticles have attracted intense attention and interests in the fields of science and medical industry in recent years due to their unique chemical and physical properties that may provide new solutions to the diagnoses and therapies of some intractable diseases. It has been recognized that the nanoparticles' features including small dimensions, modifiability, diversification, and so on would play revolutionary roles in early detection and diagnosis of diseases, in tumor-specific killing, pathogen ridding and gene restoring, and would provide some new approaches in molecular imaging, targeting delivery of gene or drugs, immune regulating, etc. This review is focusing on the study progress of nanoparticle technologies in immune regulating, anti-tumor immune therapies, anti-tumor targeting therapies and new vaccine development. Also the possible mechanisms by which nanoparticles enter into cells to participate in immune therapies are discussed on the basis of references.
Humans ; Immunotherapy ; methods ; trends ; Nanoparticles ; Neoplasms ; therapy