title: Immune-based therapies in pancreatic and colorectal cancers and biomarkers of responsiveness.
abstract: Immune-based strategies are the most promising treatments to improve cancer disease control. Early clinical trials are ongoing to test the safety and feasibility of immune-based therapies for gastrointestinal cancers. However, to date, immunotherapy has been only an experimental option for these diseases and a better understanding of their molecular, cellular, structural and clinical dissimilarities is crucial in the generation of tailored immunotherapeutic treatments. In this review, we will summarize the key mechanisms that regulate the action of immune system in cancer and the different immune-based approaches aimed at improving disease control in patients with advanced disease. We will then move on to discussing the current immunotherapeutic approaches in two types of gastrointestinal (colo-rectal and pancreatic) cancers, whose immune microenvironment has been lately object of intense analyses and has emerged as an important determinant of clinical outcome.
authors.affiliation: Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, Via Manzoni 56, Rozzano 20089, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Caro
authors.forename: Giovanni Francesco
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Castino
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bergomas
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cortese
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chiriva-Internati
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Grizzi
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marchesi
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: biomarkers; colo-rectal cancer; immunotherapy; pancreatic adenocarcinoma; tumor microenvironment