Conclusion
In conclusion, cancer's ability to induce tumor tolerance is incredibly complex. Despite promising preclinical studies, durable clinical responses using novel immunotherapeutic agents are lacking. The complexity of cancer care is increasing daily. Future efforts should focus on early detection as well as molecular and genetic/epigenetic characterization of the tumors. Ultimately, these efforts will lead to early diagnosis and personalized, biomarker-driven combinatorial therapies using a variety of medical disciplines.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
This work was supported by grants from the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (AHPBA) (KC Soares), the Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Center grants (KC Soares and L Zheng), NIH NIDDK T32 DK 7713-18 (KC Soares), National Cancer Institute (NCI) K23 CA127141 (N Ahuja), the American College of Surgeons/Society of University Surgeons (N Ahuja) and the Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) Epigenetic Dream Team (N Ahuja). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Personalized Medicine. 2014;11(6):561-564. © 2014 Future Medicine Ltd.