Modern immunotherapeutic approaches to cancers of the lung and head and neck

Multimodal therapy strategies combining surgery and both radio- and chemotherapy have improved treatment results for patients with tumors of the lung and of the head and neck region. It seems, however, that it will benecessary to supplement conventional therapy with innovative approaches that have different mechanisms of action and different toxicities for further progress to be achieved. A new generation of both passive (antibody-based) and active (vaccination) immune therapy strategies seems promising and is currently in the clinical trial stage. Integration of these strategies into clinical practice must be accompanied by investigation of the optimal sequencing of conventional and new therapies and their tailoring on the basis of genomic and proteomic data. © Springer Medizin Verlag 2005.