Monoclonal Antibodies in Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma

The modern era of cancer immunology began in 1943 with Ludwig Gross’ (1) observation that inbred mice could be immunized against tumor transplants from syngeneic animals. Subsequently, Prehn and Main (2) demonstrated that immunization with normal tissue did not afford protection implying that cancers possessed tumor-related or tumor-specific antigens that were responsible for inducing the protective effect. Integrating the evolving knowledge, Burnet coined the term “immune surveillance” (3). He proposed that cancers expressed aberrant antigens that would allow their detection and elimination by the host’s immune system. Attempts followed to define the recognized tumor antigens and to discern the reasons why immune surveillance sometimes fails and allows the development of a cancer.