A primer on tumour immunology and prostate cancer immunotherapy

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non-cutaneous malignancy and the third leading cause of cancer death in Canadian men.1 Despite this incidence and the significant health burden associated with prostate cancer, its management over the last decade has become increasingly complex and controversial for both early and advanced disease. Recent recommendations questioning the benefit of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening2 have highlighted the requirement to uncouple the diagnosis from treatment for localized disease in order to reduce over-treatment of biologically indolent disease.3 In the meanwhile, trends to decreased screening in an aging population could result in significant increases in men with more advanced disease requiring salvage or palliative treatment, including androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) and systemic chemotherapy