REVIEW: Immunotherapeutic Approaches for the Treatment of Colorectal Cancer

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E. V. Abakushina^1,a*, Yu. V. Gelm¹, I. A. Pasova¹, and A. V. Bazhin^2,b

¹Tsyb Medical Radiological Research Center, Branch of the National Medical Research Radiological Center, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 249036 Obninsk, Kaluga Region, Russia

²Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Department of General, Visceral, Transplant, Vascular and Thoracic Surgery, 81377 Munich, Germany

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received February 26, 2019; Revised April 10, 2019; Accepted April 10, 2019

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) originating from the cells of the colon or rectum has a high mortality rate worldwide. Numerous attempts have been made to raise the overall survival rates of CRC patients. It is well-known that the development of malignant neoplasms is accompanied by suppression of the immune system, which is likely the cause for the failure of standard treatment methods. Immune response has long been an issue of great interest in cancer therapy and anti-tumor immunity that consider the development of immunotherapeutic antitumor methods resulting in the immune system activation as an important issue. This review discusses main immunotherapeutic approaches available for the CRC treatment.

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KEY WORDS: colorectal cancer (CRC), immunotherapy, checkpoint inhibition, programmed death 1 (PD-1), adoptive cell immunotherapy

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297919070046

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