最近，FDA批准了Provenge®作为第一种治疗性癌症疫苗，以及最近证明Ipilimumab®（一种阻断阴性免疫检查点细胞毒性T淋巴细胞相关抗原-4的单克隆抗体）可以延长患者的生存期，这些重大成就开创了癌症免疫治疗的新时代。这些 "首屈一指 "的治疗方法反映了基础科学家和转化科学家在理解癌症患者保护性肿瘤免疫的机制方面取得的实质性进展 免疫疗法最早是在20世纪初探索出来的，但要制作出有效的治疗方法，需要对免疫系统如何应对癌症有更详细的了解。遗传、细胞和生化技术的进步已经开始产生这种关键信息，将注意力集中在免疫识别、调节和逃逸上。事实上，这些过程在肿瘤微环境中的动态相互作用现在已被认为在决定疾病结果方面起着决定性的作用。本书强调了癌症免疫学研究的快速进展和广度，并为预期癌症免疫治疗的更多临床成功提供了一个框架。

The recent FDA approval of Provenge® as the first therapeutic cancer vaccine together with the recent demonstration that Ipilimumab®, a monoclonal antibody that blocks the negative immune checkpoint cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen-4, prolongs patient survival are major achievements that usher in a new era of cancer immunotherapy. These “first-in-class” treatments reflect the substantive progress that basic and translational scientists have made towards understanding the mechanisms underlying protective tumor immunity in cancer patients Immunotherapies were first explored at the turn of the twentieth century, but the crafting of potent treatments required more detailed knowledge of how the immune system responds to cancer. Advances in genetic, cellular, and biochemical technologies have begun to yield this critical information, focusing attention on immune recognition, regulation, and escape. Indeed, the dynamic interplay of these processes in the tumor microenvironment is now recognized to play a decisive role in determining disease outcome. This volume highlights the rapid progress and breadth of research in cancer immunology, and provides a framework for anticipating many more clinical successes in cancer immunotherapy.