ADVANCES IN CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF CURRENT AND FUTURE APPROACHES IN THE TREATMENT OF SOLID AND HEMATOLOGIC TUMORS.

Abstract

Cancer immunotherapy uses the patient's immune system to fight cancerous cells with little to no side effects, making it a viable treatment option for solid and hematologic cancers. Reviewing current developments as well as potential directions for the field of cancer immunotherapy, this paper focuses on immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell treatment, and cancer vaccines. A thorough analysis of the literature using publications from 2018 to 2023 was carried out using PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. The findings demonstrate the immune checkpoint inhibitors' outstanding effectiveness in treating a variety of cancers, especially when combined with anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 antibodies, which result in improved survival rates and long-lasting effects. In hematologic malignancies, CAR T-cell therapy—particularly second-generation designs—has shown encouraging results, producing notable responses in patients with relapsed or resistant illness. Cancer vaccines that target tumor-specific antigens have shown promise in enhancing T-cell responses, despite obstacles such autoreactive immune responses and tumor heterogeneity. Notwithstanding these developments, there are still several drawbacks, such as immune-related adverse effects, inconsistent response rates, and logistical challenges. According to future views, in order to overcome these obstacles and improve treatment success, new combination treatments, biomarker-driven strategies, and creative delivery methods are necessary.