Clinical, virological and immunological aspects of adoptive cell therapy against EBV-related diseases

From an immunological point of view, tumors with a viral etiology have an important advantage, as their associated antigens are not self and, thereby, are strongly immunogenic.This is well demonstrated in the case of EBVassociated tumors, which represent one of the main target of adoptive immunotherapy. Here, we describe the results of trials conducted thus far with EBV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes, in terms of clinical, virological and immunological responses, underlining the relevance of the continuous interplay between oncologists, clinical microbiologists and immunologists for an effective management of these disorders.