RESUMEN
To date, killing cancer cells by cytotoxic drugs is still the mainstay of treatment for different types of cancer. Tumor cells can not be specifically identified by cytotoxic drugs, which may also kill other normal cells. The number of cells in immune system, including lymphocytes and granulocytes, may decrease after chemotherapy with cytotoxic drugs. Therefore, it has been generally recognized for many years that the chemotherapeutic drugs will suppress immune system. However, recent studies have demonstrated that some chemotherapeutic drugs can suppress tumor growth by promoting antitumor immune responses instead of suppressing these responses through modulating the anti-tumor immune responses by changing the immunogenicity of tumor cells, enhancing the immunocompetence of immune-related cells such as dendritic cells, and decreasing the number of immunosuppressive cells. These findings may change the recognization of the role for conventional chemotherapy in anti-tumor treatment, and it will be helpful to optimize the chemotherapy strategies more reasonably. Copyright© 2011 by TUMOR.