Page 9 - EJMO-9-2

Eurasian Journal of Medicine

and Oncology

EDITORIAL
Tumor immunotherapy: A crucial area for

immediate focus

Ziyuan Zhang , Jingtian Qi * , and Xianbin Kong *
1
1,3
2
1 College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin,
China
2 Famous Traditional Chinese Medicine Hall, Tianjin Hospital of ITCWM Nankai Hospital, Tianjin,
China
3 Tianjin Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine Theory of Innovation and Application, College
of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China

Recent years have seen significant breakthroughs in tumor immunotherapy, with the
treatment method offering numerous cancer patients a renewed prospect of survival,
with the treatment method offering a renewed prospect of survival to numerous cancer
patients. The therapeutic armory of immunotherapy comprises a variety of medications,
including immune checkpoint inhibitors, drugs related to adoptive cell therapy, cancer
vaccines, and cytokine drugs. The mechanism of action of immunotherapy involves
activating the immune system to target and destroy tumor cells, a process that can be
precise and effective in minimizing damage to normal tissues. The broad spectrum of
immunotherapy applications, encompassing numerous tumor types, has a significant
advantage over other therapeutic modalities. Furthermore, the capacity for combination
therapy, in which immunotherapy is utilized with other treatments such as radiotherapy
and chemotherapy, further enhances the therapeutic outcomes. Despite the evident
*Corresponding authors: benefits of immunotherapy, considerable challenges must be addressed to ensure its
Jingtian Qi optimal efficacy and broad application in cancer treatment. These challenges will impede
(172509113@qq.com);
Xianbin Kong the enhancement of therapeutic efficacy and hinder its application across a broader
(89kongxianbin@tjutcm.edu.cn) range of patient demographics.
Citation: Zhang Z, Qi J, Kong X. A salient feature of immunotherapy is its heterogeneity in terms of efficacy among
Tumor immunotherapy: A crucial
area for immediate focus. Eurasian patients, with some demonstrating notable responses while others exhibit minimal or no
J Med Oncol. 2025;9(2):1-2. response. To illustrate this point, a survey of 27 elderly patients with advanced tumors who
doi: 10.36922/EJMO025120059 underwent immunotherapy revealed that 7.4% experienced complete remission, 48.1%
Received: March 18, 2025 experienced partial remission, 18.5% were in stable condition, and 25.9% experienced disease
1
Accepted: March 31, 2025 progression. This individual variation may be related to the tumor microenvironment
heterogeneity, the state of the patient’s immune system, and the tumor mutational load.
Published online: April 16, 2025
In addition to the heterogeneity of efficacy outcomes, a significant challenge
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article confronting immunotherapy is the occurrence of immune-related adverse events.
distributed under the terms of the The therapeutic modality of immunotherapy involves activating the patient’s immune
Creative Commons Attribution system to target tumor cells. However, this process may result in the immune system’s
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, misdirected attack on normal tissues, leading to immune-related adverse events. These
provided the original work is adverse reactions have the potential to affect multiple organ systems in the body,
properly cited. including the skin, endocrine, cardiovascular, pulmonary, hepatic, renal, gastrointestinal,
Publisher’s Note: AccScience musculoskeletal, and neurological systems, and can occur during treatment or after
Publishing remains neutral with discontinuation of the drug. Adverse reactions of this nature have the potential to be life-
2
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional threatening in severe cases. Effectively managing such reactions without compromising
affiliations. efficacy is a significant clinical challenge.

Volume 9 Issue 2 (2025) 1 doi: 10.36922/EJMO025120059