Active specific immunotherapy and cell-transfer therapy for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer is an intractable disease urgently requiring more effective treatment approaches. The potential of immunotherapy in this context remains promising, although presently there are no satisfactory protocols available for lung cancer. However, encouraging evidence of clinical benefits from immunotherapy is beginning to accumulate in several lung cancer trials. Better understanding of tumor-specific immune responses, identifying tumor-associated antigens, and manipulating the immunoregulatory environment of the tumor is likely to further increase the efficacy of immune-mediated cancer therapies. Here, we review recent advances in cellular immunotherapy and vaccines for lung cancer, emphasizing an important paradigm shift in the analysis of clinical benefit away from “tumor response” towards “patient response”.