Immunotherapy Use in the Treatment of ALL

Abstract

Cancer is a broad category of dieseases characterized by rapid and uncontrolled cell growth. The immune system should technically eliminate cancer, but cancerous cells use several immune evasion mechanisms in order to avoid this immune response. Thus, outside intervention is needed and most often comes in the form of direct action against malignant cells. However, in recent decades, some focus has shifted towards using patients' own immune systems to better attack and eliminate cancer. This new form of treatment, known as immunotherapy, has many benefits, including the fact that it provides largely effective treatment without many of the toxicities associated with chemotherapy. This review explores the use of immunotherapy in treating acute lymphocytic leukemia, or ALL, and future directions that recent advances in this field point towards.