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Is immunotherapy a reasonable approach for the treatment of esophageal cancer?

Immuntherapie beim Ösophagus Karzinom

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Zusammenfassung

GRUNDLAGEN: Die Fortschritte der chirurgischen Techniken und die Anwendung diverser Chemotherapeutika haben zwar die Prognose des Ösophaguskarzinoms in den letzten Jahrzehnten verbessert, jedoch ist das 5 Jahresüberleben noch immer schlecht. Diese Tatsache hat zur Erforschung von neuen Therapieoptionen wie zum Beispiel Immunotherapie geführt. METHODIK: Literaturübersicht und Darstellung eigener Erfahrungen mit Immuntherapie. ERGEBNISSE: In den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten wurden in klinischen Studien die adoptive Immuntherapie unter Verwendung von Tumor-infiltrierenden Lymphozyten oder Lymphokin aktivierten Killerzellen angewendet: Das zunehmende Verständnis über die zentrale Rolle von professio-nellen antigen-präsentierenden Zellen (dendritische Zellen; DCs) in der Regulation des Immunsystems und die Mechanismen, welche die Funktion der beteiligten Effektorzellen kontrollieren öffnet neue Therapieoptionen bei Tumorpatienten. SCHLUSSFOLGERUNGEN: Die Immuntherapie in Kombination mit etablierten Therapiemodalitäten scheint ein möglicher Therapieansatz in der Behandlung des Ösophaguskarzinoms zu sein, der die Prognose zukünftig noch verbessern sollte.

Summary

BACKGROUND: The advances in surgical techniques and the development of new therapeutic agents have improved the prognosis of esophageal cancer in the past decades. However, the 5 year overall survival still remains poor. The bleak prognosis has led to the search for new therapeutic options such as immunotherapy. METHODS: Review of the literature and presentation of institutional experience in immunotherapy. RESULTS: In the past two decades, adoptive immunotherapy based on tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) or lymphokine activated killer cells (LAK) has been used in clinical trials. The increasing knowledge about the central role of professional antigen presenting cells (Dendritic cells; DCs) in the regulation of the immune system and the mechanism controlling the function of the involved effector cells have provided new possibilities for cancer treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Immunotherapy in combination with established therapeutical modalities is a possible approach for the treatment of esophageal cancer that may in the future further improve the prognosis.

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  1. Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    J. Friedl, S. Riss & A. Stift

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  1. J. Friedl
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Friedl, J., Riss, S. & Stift, A. Is immunotherapy a reasonable approach for the treatment of esophageal cancer?. Eur Surg 39, 158–166 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10353-007-0334-4

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