ABSTRACT

This chapter considers aspects of how the immune system responds to neoplastic cells and the range of tumours of cells of the immune system. Tumour cells derive from normal body cells or tumour stem cells during the process of neoplastic transformation. Neoplastic transformation and development of clinical neoplasia is largely a genetic event involving the oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes that regulate the cell cycle and apoptosis, but other factors, including failure of immune surveillance, contribute to the progression of malignancy. It is generally believed that the relatively higher incidence of cancer in ageing populations relates to age-related alterations in immune function (immunosenescence), which particularly impair the cell-mediated and cytotoxic reactions that underlie an effective anticancer immune response.