Immune Surveillance as a Rationale for Immunotherapy?

Anastas Pashov, Behjatolah Monzavi-Karbassi, Marie Chow, Martin Cannon and Thomas Kieber-Emmons

volume 3 | issue 5

september/october 2007
Pages: 224 - 228

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The identification and replication of successful processes or best practices is a standard management operating model adopted in diverse environments, e. g. – business, medical practice and even in scientific research. Here, we present a thought experiment on its applicability to developing cancer immunotherapeutics. This thought experiment provides a framework for reassessing the pros and cons of existing approaches and new ideas. It turns out that replication of a best practice can be surprisingly difficult. Tinkering with an operation that is efficient or trying to combine practices to create the perfect hybrid might lend to problems.