L’immunologie : les bases pour comprendre les traitements actuels et à venir

The immune system intergrate cells mainly present in lymphoid organs and tissues that react to modifications provided by the environment. They include cells including adaptive immunity (T and B cells) innate effectors and innate like effectors as well as soluble factors like cytokines and antibodies. This system acts differently in the different organs and tissues and upon environmental stress. Cancer induces also a modification of the homeostasis of the tissues. Immunology is a rapidly evolving science with important recent and not fully completed actors and functions.Various novel therapies rely on the immune system and have demonstrated their high effciency during the very last years. The first most recent waves of immunotherapies rely on the mechanisms of cosignaling but also genitically engeneered T cells prone to kill tumor targets as well as technological development using bispecific antibodies recognizing both tumor and an activating receptor on immune cells.The next steps will embrace various important mechanisms involved in the immune responses including cytokines, blockade of the inhibitory pathways in the tumor micro environment, innate and innate-like cells and vaccines.© 2020 SPLF. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.