“The T-Cell Army” – a good read on immunotherapy for cancer
The New Yorker just came out (4.23.12) with this article by Jerome Groopman which is a recount of the history of immunotherapy going back to William Coley in 1890 and tracing its development in the US and modern day Jim Allison’s idea of using T cells as anti-cancer agents. All in all, a fascinating read recounting how immunotherapy lost ground to radiation therapy in the early 20th century and how it has resurrected since. As Jedd Wolchok (Director of immunotherapy clinical trials at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and director of the Cancer Vaccine Collaborative) told Jerome Groopman for the article: “The future is about thoughtful combinations, different antibodies, perhaps with targeted therapies, there won’t be a single silver bullet …” and I couldn’t have said it better than him !
