Over the last ten years, cancer therapy attention has shifted from the tumor itself to the host’s immune system. The option to use the patient’s own immune cells to selectively target and kill cancer cells has become an appealing and attractive strategy. Today, this concept is indicated as cancer immunotherapy. It has become the fourth pillar in cancer care. Although immunotherapy has been first developed to treat adult cancers, recent studies have shown some immunotherapy success in pediatric cancer. Despite similarities between pediatric malignancies and their adult counterparts, accumulating observations show that pediatric cancers are unique, and current adult cancer management is not wholly applicable for kids. Childhood tumors display a lower mutation burden, diverse immune-evasion mechanisms, and different immune responses to cancer immunotherapy than adults.
In the last few years, FDA approved checkpoint inhibitors, bispecific T-cell engagers, and chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-Ts) for children malignancy. Moreover, several therapeutic vaccines and oncolytic virus therapies are still under investigation to determine their potential in childhood cancer patients.
This Research Topic aims to provide a comprehensive overview of our current and developing knowledge of immunotherapy in pediatric malignancies. We will also explore recent discoveries and developments of novel approaches for immunotherapy in childhood malignancies.
We welcome Original Research articles, Reviews, and expert Opinions along with the following themes:
1. Basic, preclinical and clinical research advances in pediatric cancer immunotherapy
2. Discovery of targets for T-cell based immunotherapy in pediatric cancer
3. Integrating immunotherapy into the existing standard of care practices
4. Enhancing pediatric cancer immunotherapy outcome in combination with approved therapeutic approaches and other experimental therapeutic approaches
5. Improved animal models for understanding and evaluating pediatric cancer immunology
6. Regulatory considerations in developing pediatric cancer immunotherapy
Over the last ten years, cancer therapy attention has shifted from the tumor itself to the host’s immune system. The option to use the patient’s own immune cells to selectively target and kill cancer cells has become an appealing and attractive strategy. Today, this concept is indicated as cancer immunotherapy. It has become the fourth pillar in cancer care. Although immunotherapy has been first developed to treat adult cancers, recent studies have shown some immunotherapy success in pediatric cancer. Despite similarities between pediatric malignancies and their adult counterparts, accumulating observations show that pediatric cancers are unique, and current adult cancer management is not wholly applicable for kids. Childhood tumors display a lower mutation burden, diverse immune-evasion mechanisms, and different immune responses to cancer immunotherapy than adults.
In the last few years, FDA approved checkpoint inhibitors, bispecific T-cell engagers, and chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-Ts) for children malignancy. Moreover, several therapeutic vaccines and oncolytic virus therapies are still under investigation to determine their potential in childhood cancer patients.
This Research Topic aims to provide a comprehensive overview of our current and developing knowledge of immunotherapy in pediatric malignancies. We will also explore recent discoveries and developments of novel approaches for immunotherapy in childhood malignancies.
We welcome Original Research articles, Reviews, and expert Opinions along with the following themes:
1. Basic, preclinical and clinical research advances in pediatric cancer immunotherapy
2. Discovery of targets for T-cell based immunotherapy in pediatric cancer
3. Integrating immunotherapy into the existing standard of care practices
4. Enhancing pediatric cancer immunotherapy outcome in combination with approved therapeutic approaches and other experimental therapeutic approaches
5. Improved animal models for understanding and evaluating pediatric cancer immunology
6. Regulatory considerations in developing pediatric cancer immunotherapy