Role of NK cells and adaptive immunity in “immunoediting”: Recent developments

Abstract

The role of the different arms of the Immune System in the control and elimination of tumors has been the subject of increasing interest in recent years. Here, some recent findings adding support to the role of NK cells in the elimination of spontaneous tumors in transgenic models of tumorigenesis (Guerra et al, 2008), or the role of adaptive immunity in the maintenance of chemically induced tumors as a chronic disease (Koebel et al, 2007) will be discussed within the frame of the “immunoediting” theory.