Lentiviral vectors for cancer immunotherapy and clinical applications.

[x-linked adrenoleukodystrophy]

The success of immunotherapy against infectious diseases has shown us the powerful potential that such a treatment offers , and substantial work has been done to apply this strategy in the fight against cancer . Cancer is however a fiercer opponent than pathogen-caused diseases due to natural tolerance towards tumour associated antigens and tumour-induced immunosuppression . Recent gene therapy clinical trials with viral vectors have shown clinical efficacy in the correction of genetic diseases , HIV and cancer . The first successful gene therapy clinical trials were carried out with onco (γ-)retroviral vectors but oncogenesis by insertional mutagenesis appeared as a serious complication . Lentiviral vectors have emerged as a potentially safer strategy , and recently the first clinical trial of patients with advanced leukemia using lentiviral vectors has proven successful . Additionally , therapeutic lentivectors have shown clinical efficacy for the treatment of HIV , X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy , and β-thalassaemia . This review aims at describing lentivectors and how they can be utilized to boost anti-tumour immune responses by manipulating the effector immune cells .