title: Immunotherapy for pediatric cancer.
abstract: Improvements in adult cancer survivorship can be achieved from behavioral changes and adopting screening programs. Yet, these approaches cannot be readily applied to lower the morbidity and mortality from childhood cancers. Rather, pediatric oncologists must rely on procedures and therapies to treat, rather than prevent malignancies. The systematic application of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery has led to remarkable advances in survival but these improvements have come at a cost. Children routinely receive chemotherapy agents that were designed decades ago, and these drugs have predictable side effects that result in the loss of potential for long-term survivors. The advent of targeted applications of immune-based therapies offers children with cancer a new class of oncolytic therapies that may be used to treat disease refractory to conventional approaches and lessen the toxicity of current treatment regimens without compromising remission. This review explores how 3 components of the immune system--T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, and antibodies--can be used for therapy of pediatric malignancies.
authors.affiliation: Division of Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Stephan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Grupp
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Verneris
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Sondel
authors.forename: Laurence J N
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Cooper
mesh_terms: D000906:Antibodies / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000637:transplantation; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000637:transplantation
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies