2025, Vol. 5, Issue 2, Part B

Cancer, caused by the uncontrolled growth of aberrant cells, is still one of the greatest threats to humanity's health. The relationship between malignancy and immunity has been studied for more than a century, dating back to Rudolph Virchow's definitive emphasis on this relationship over 150 years ago ^[1]. Three basic principles underlying the basis of this relationship are accountable for the mechanism whereby immunity functions to defend the host: first, the immune response identifies “nonself” antigens of organisms or of infected and transformed cells; secondly, it utilizes selective effector mechanisms to selectively destroy these noxious agents with sparing of the host's own tissues; and, thirdly, through adaptive responses, it acquires immunological memory to render the body resolutely resistant to subsequent insult or repeated challenge ^[2].

The dynamic interaction between immunity and tumor development has led to the formulation of the immunoediting paradigm, which reflects the delicate balance between immune surveillance and malignant progression in cancer biology ^{[3, 4]}. This paradigm is defined by three sequential phases: elimination, where immune mechanisms target and destroy transformed cells; equilibrium, during which residual malignant cells persist in a dormant state under immune control; and escape, whereby tumor cells acquire the capacity to bypass immune defenses, leading to disease progression ^[4]. The ability of cancer to circumvent immune recognition is now recognized as a defining hallmark of malignancy and serves as the conceptual basis for modern immunotherapeutic interventions. While the earliest attempts at immune-based cancer treatment can be traced back to the pioneering efforts of William B ^{[1, 5]}. Coley and his collaborators in the nineteenth century, contemporary research and technological advances have expanded these foundations, giving rise to novel immunotherapeutic strategies aimed at suppressing or eradicating diverse forms of cancer.