Teaching the immune system to fight cancer

Editor's note: This piece was adapted from a story that originally appeared in the  University of Chicago Magazine. When telling the story of immunotherapy and cancer and how the two battle it out, it's awfully challenging not to pull out the old A Tale of Two Cities cliché. Because everyone agrees: It is the best of times in cancer research and treatment. Over the past five years, the standard of care for treatment of many cancers has made a decided shift toward marshalling a patient's own immune system to attack the disease. The full spectrum of immunotherapies available are administered at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center. Researchers here are shaping the future of cancer treatment from every corner. Work on the role of the human microbiome has entered a phase 1 clinical trial.