There is now a pressing need to discuss the already described and newly emerging mechanisms to see how they can be put together in more or less cohesive structure and how they can help to improve immune response to tumors. This monograph will, for the first time, present a comprehensive overview of different mechanisms of immune dysfunction in cancer as well as therapeutic approaches to their correction. It will discuss a number of new mechanisms that have never been discussed in a monograph before: T-cell inhibitory molecules, regulatory tolerogenic DCs, and signaling pathways in antigen-presenting cells involved in T-cell tolerance.

Tumor Induced Immune Suppression: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Reversal focuses on the critical question of tumor biology: "Why can tumors escape immune system control?" It also addresses one of the most important problems within the field of clinical oncology: the lack of efficient cancer vaccines. Edited by Dmitry Gabrilovich and Andy Hurwitz, the book is the first attempt at a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the various immunosuppressive mechanisms in cancer. This analysis includes information on:

• Different surface molecules that mediate T-cell suppression in cancer;
• The specific roles of dendritic cells, macrophages, and myeloid-derived suppressor cells in tumor non-responsiveness;
• The contribution of regulatory T cells in the inability of immune systems to mount antitumor response;
• The role of T-cell signaling and different metabolic pathways in tumor-associated immune suppression.

This volume connects a multitude of different immunosuppressive mechanisms into one cohesive picture. Most of the chapters not only describe the biological phenomena, but also suggest specific approaches to their correction.

This book should be of high interest for researchers in the fields of tumor immunology and general immunology, as well as for those who are involved in clinical oncology and cancer immunotherapy.

From the reviews:

"The overall goal of this book is to describe what is currently known about the ways tumors circumvent destruction by the host's immune system. ? The book is targeted at researchers -- immunologists in general and, more specifically, tumor immunologists. It also provides a good source of information for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The editors of the book and the authors of the chapters are authorities in the areas they discuss. ? a useful addition to the field." (Marion C. Cohen, Doody's Review Service, August, 2008)