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Cancer-Immune Equilibrium: Questions Unanswered

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Cancer Microenvironment

Abstract

Cancer-immune (CI) equilibrium constitutes an important component of the cancer immunoediting theory. It is defined as a period during which our immune system and cancer live in harmony in the body. The immune system, though not able to completely eliminate the cancer, doesn’t allow it to progress or metastasize further. Mechanisms of this phase are poorly understood because this phase is difficult to identify even by the most modern detection methods. Till now, the work done on the equilibrium phase of cancer, suggests promising improvements in cancer therapy if the disease could be withheld in this phase. However, there are many queries which remain to be addressed about this interesting yet unresolved phase of cancer immunity.

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The author(s) declare that they have no conflict of interest

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No funding has been received from any agency for this work

Authors’ Contributions

AB conceptualized, designed and drafted the manuscript. YK has drafted the manuscript and has revised it critically for important intellectual content. Both the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Alka Bhatia.

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Bhatia, A., Kumar, Y. Cancer-Immune Equilibrium: Questions Unanswered. Cancer Microenvironment 4, 209–217 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12307-011-0065-8

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