Over the last one to two decades, the field of cancer immunotherapy has rapidly progressed from early preclinical studies to a successful clinical reality and fourth major pillar of human cancer therapy. While current excitement in the field of immunotherapy is being driven by several major breakthroughs including immune checkpoint inhibitors and adoptive cell therapies, these advances stem from a foundation of pivotal studies demonstrating the immune systems role in tumor control and eradication. The following will be a succinct review on veterinary cancer immunotherapy as it pertains to manipulation of the innate immune system to control tumor growth and metastasis. In addition, we will provide an update on recent progress in our understanding of the innate immune system in veterinary tumor immunology, and how these gains may lead to novel therapies for the treatment of cancer in companion animals.
Keywords: cancer; dog; innate immunity; macrophage; monocyte; treatment.