Foreword

It is a privilege to write the Foreword for this book which is an outstanding review of cutting edge cancer immunotherapy. Despite early promises in some cancers, immunotherapy had generally failed to achieve consistent success. This scenario has changed drastically in the past few years. Indeed, Science Magazine hailed the advances in cancer immunotherapy as the number one breakthrough in all scientific disciplines for 2013.

The chapters of the book encompass all the different aspects of cancer immunotherapy and are authored by worldwide authorities in this field. There is a nice introductory chapter by the editor J. Song who provides a broad overview of the field. All chapters have a focus on clinical application and translational medicine. Individual chapters discuss the basic immunology of cytotoxic T cells, NK cells, dendritic cells, and regulatory T cells. Cancer vaccines draw attention in the dendritic cell chapter as well as in a focused separate chapter near the end of the book. Cytokines are also discussed extensively with a chapter discussing the role of IFNα as a vaccine adjuvant. Potential therapeutic roles for cytokines of the IL-12 family are the basis of another chapter.

Extensive consideration of technological advances is a focus of the book. These methodologies include genetic engineering of T cells, targeting of T cell co-stimulation, and antibody engineering. Adoption of such technologies has shown marked clinical responses in a variety of cancers. A limitation of the field of adoptive T cell therapy has been the challenge in generally sufficient numbers of antigen- specific T cells. The generation of such antigen - specific CTL using iPSC technology then is a fascinating potential solution as proposed in Chapter 10.

I would like to congratulate the editor, J. Song for bringing together a stellar group from around the world to summarize the current state of the art in the reinvigorated field of cancer immunotherapy.