Prospects in cancer immunotherapy: treating advanced stage disease or preventing tumor recurrence?

Human vaccines against infectious agents are often effective in a prophylactic setting. However, they are usually not effective when used post-exposure. Rabies vaccine is one of the exceptions, which can be used post-exposure, but is effective only when used in combination with other treatments. Similar results have been obtained with cancer vaccines and immunotherapies. Cancer immunotherapies generally prolong patients' survival when they are used during advanced stage disease. The potential of immunotherapy to cure cancer could be revealed when it is applied in a prophylactic setting. This article provides a brief overview of cancer immunotherapeutics and suggests that immunotherapy can cure cancer if used at the right time against the right target; we suggest that targeting cancer during dormancy in order to prevent tumor recurrence as advanced stage disease is potentially curative.