Cancer immunotherapy for metastasis: past, present and future.

Cancer is a complex and refractory disease, which can disseminate from primary site to a different site even at an early stage. Cancer immunotherapy harnesses host immune system to battle against cancer, but only a minority of patients benefit from it. Genetic-based technologies have significantly promoted the development of cancer immunotherapy. Here we describe genetic-based cancer immunotherapies in three aspects: recombinant cancer vaccine, immune checkpoint blockade therapy and adoptive cell transfer. In the future, multi-disciplinary collaboration will greatly increase the scope and effectiveness of cancer immunotherpy.