Tumor microenvironment and the immune response

Without clinical information, accurate follow-up, high-quality sample collection, and preservation, scientific conclusions are only based on theoretical assumptions that are unlikely to lead to clinical breakthroughs. In this article we discuss our understanding of the relationship between cancer cells and the host immune response. We emphasize the critical role that future clinical investigations, led by surgical oncologists, may have for the assessment of the validity of the disparate hypotheses so far formulated at the bench side.