Cancer immunotherapy in elderly patients: The concept of immune senescence challenged by clinical experience

Abstract

Cancer immunotherapy, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy and bispecific antibodies, has led to major improvements in the treatment of a wide range of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. However, age-mediated immune system modifications, known as immunosenescence, may preclude its efficacy in elderly patients. In this review, we assessed the efficacy of these different cancer immunotherapies in elderly patients compared to young patients to revisit the concept of immunosenescence from a therapeutic perspective.