The immune system and its never-ending battle against tumor cells: recognition, elimination, and evasion of the immune response

Cancer is one of the main causes of death in the world; for this reason, current research focuses on evaluating the mechanisms involved in the development of this disease. Over the years, it has been shown that the immune response (both innate and adaptive) plays a fundamental role in identifying and eliminating tumor cells. However, tumors can evade immune recognition and continue proliferating. In this review, we explain current aspects of the mechanisms used by the immune system to eliminate tumor cells; we also provide a review of the mechanisms mediated by the tumor to evade the immune response.