2011: the immune hallmarks of cancer

Ten years after the publication of the position paper “The hallmarks of cancer” (Hanahan and Weinberg Cell 100:57–70, 2000), it has become increasingly clear that mutated cells on their way to giving rise to a tumor have also to learn how to thrive in a chronically inflamed microenvironment, evade immune recognition, and suppress immune reactivity. Genetic and molecular definition of these three immune hallmarks of cancer offers the opportunity to learn how to deploy specific countermeasures to reverse the situation in favor of the immune system and, eventually, the patient. This new information could be channeled to address what seem to be the three major hallmarks for the immune control of cancer progression: effective procedures to activate immune reactivity; characterization of not-disposable oncoantigens; and counteraction of immune suppression.