Cytokines and Cancer Vaccines.

Since the late 1980s, tumor immunology has made truly revolutionary progress. Perhaps the two most significant contributing factors are the discovery of tumor antigens (TAs) and advances in cytokine-biotechnology. Molecular characterization of T-cell-epitopes within TAs led an evolution of tumor immunology from the rather empirical observation of tumor regressions into a sophisticated science established on a solid molecular basis (1,2). In addition, the availability of recombinant cytokines and their cDNAs promoted our understanding of the role of cytokines in tumor immunosurveillance, and allowed us to examine the administration of cytokines to facilitate anti-tumor inflammatory response within the tumor microenvironment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]