Role of CD4 T cells and APCs in the induction and maintenance of an effective antitumor response

许多癌症仍然无法通过传统疗法（手术、化疗和放疗）治愈。这包括恶性间皮瘤，这是一种与以前接触石棉有关的癌症。接触可发生在该病发病前长达30年。患者的平均生存时间，从诊断时起，约为9个月，这种疾病的发病率正在增加。因此，需要新的治疗方法来帮助减轻这种疾病，甚至可能根除它。免疫疗法——利用人体自身的防御系统来帮助对抗癌症——是一种潜在的新疗法。然而，如果我们要对免疫疗法的设计做出理性的决定，我们需要了解免疫系统和癌症通常是如何相互作用的。我们已经建立了一个实验室模型，使我们能够研究这种相互作用。我们将确定免疫系统的哪些组成部分是根除癌症所必需的，以及它们在癌症生长的哪个阶段是最重要的。通过了解这些谜题，我们也许能够更适当地调整系统，或者设计出对高危人群有效的疫苗。

Many cancers are still untreatable by conventional therapies (surgery, chemotherapy and radiation). This includes malignant mesothelioma, a cancer associated with previous exposure to asbestos. Exposure can occur up to 30 years before the onset of this disease. The average time of survival for patients, from the time of diagnosis, is about nine months and the incidence of this disease is increasing. Novel therapies are therefore required to help alleviate this disease and perhaps eradicate it. Immunotherapy - using the body's own defence system to help fight cancer- is one potential form of new treatment. However we need to understand how the immune system and cancer normally interact with one another if we are to make rational decisions about the design of immunotherapies. We have established a laboratory model which allows us to investigate this interaction. We will determine which components of the immune system are required to eradicate cancer and at which stages of cancer growth they are most important. By understanding these pieces of the puzzle we may be able to tweak the system more appropriately or design vaccines that will be effective in at risk populations.