Combining Immunotherapies with Standard Therapies in the Treatment of Cancer

The host immune response against tumors has been proven to be a critical component following cancer therapy that can determine cancer control and patient survival. This understanding has given rise to immunotherapy, which has revolutionized the clinical treatment of cancer by harnessing a patient's immune system to target tumors. Although the current arsenal of immunotherapies shows clinical efficacy, this is often not true for all patients. It is thought that approaches that combine standard cancer treatments with immunotherapy may improve overall efficacy by adapting the tumor microenvironment to a more immunogenic state, and by providing a multifaceted attack against which tumors have less likelihood of escape. In this article, we review how immunotherapies may be combined successfully with clinically available chemotherapies, targeted therapies, or radiotherapy for a synergistic control of tumors.