1. Which of the following is considered a first-line immunotherapy treatment for several cancer types?
a. Chemotherapy
b. Radiation therapy
c. Checkpoint inhibitors
d. Stem cell transplant
2. Which of the following targets cytotoxic T cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells?
a. Monoclonal antibodies
b. Cancer vaccines
c. Oncolytic viruses
d. Interleukins
3. PD-1 and CTLA-4 are examples of:
a. Checkpoint proteins
b. T cell receptors
c. Cytokines
d. Antigens
4. Drugs that block checkpoint proteins like PD-1 and CTLA-4 are called:
a. Checkpoint inhibitors
b. Cancer vaccines
c. Monoclonal antibodies
d. Adoptive cell transfer therapies
5. Cytokines like interleukin-2 are used in cancer immunotherapy to:
a. Boost the immune system’s natural response to tumors
b. Directly kill cancer cells
c. Activate cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells
d. Carry drugs specifically to tumor cells
6. Chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy involves collecting a patient’s T cells and modifying them to:
a. Express tumor-specific antigen receptors
b. Release interferon
c. Recognize PD-1 and CTLA-4
d. Induce an antibody response
7. Which of these is an example of a preventative cancer vaccine:
a. Provenge
b. Papillomavirus vaccine
c. Keytruda
d. Yervoy
8. Adoptive cell transfer therapy obtains living immune cells from a(n):
a. Tumor microenvironment
b. Bone marrow
c. Tumor-draining lymph node
d. Spleen
9. Oncolytic viruses work by:
a. Stimulating an adaptive immune response with cancer-specific antigens
b. Directly inducing apoptosis in tumor cells after replication
c. Blocking inhibitory checkpoints like PD-1 and CTLA-4
d. Activating dendritic cells to initiate an immune response
10. Targeted monoclonal antibodies can work by:
a. Immune cell stimulation
b. Directly blocking receptor signaling important for tumor growth
c. Stimulating phagocytosis of cancer cells
d. Non-specific killing of all rapidly dividing cells
11. Which type of immunotherapy exclusively targets tumor-associated antigens to generate an immune response:
a. Cytokines
b. Cancer vaccines
c. Adoptive cell transfer
d. Checkpoint inhibitors
12. In metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, sipuleucel-T is an example of:
a. A checkpoint inhibitor
b. An oncolytic virus therapy
c. An adoptive cell therapy
d. An antigen-specific cancer vaccine
13. CAR T-cell therapy development involves what step to target cancer cell antigens:
a. Genetic engineering of T-cells
b. Isolating naturally occurring tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes
c. Maturation of dendritic cells presenting tumor antigens
d. Expansion of T-cells after isolation from lymph nodes
14. Cytokines like interleukin-2 function by:
a. Enhancing the outgrowth and activity of T cells and NK cells
b. Releasing perforins and granzymes to induce tumor cell death
c. Targeting immunosuppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment
d. Carrying tumor-associated antigens to antigen presenting cells
15. A major benefit of immunotherapy over chemotherapy is:
a. Increased specificity for cancer cells
b. Less systemic toxicity to normal tissues
c. More durable responses
d. Ability to cross the blood-brain barrier
16. Monoclonal antibodies used in cancer immunotherapy work by:
a. Directly killing cancer cells
b. Stimulating an adaptive immune response against tumor antigens
c. Releasing cytokines to activate immune cells
d. Inhibiting angiogenesis within tumors
17. In prostate cancer, sipuleucel-T triggers an immune response against which antigen:
a. PSMA
b. PSA
c. HER2
d. MUC1
18. Adoptive cell therapies aim to overcome which immune system limitation:
a. Inability to recognize novel antigens
b. Insufficient numbers of reactive T cells
c. Immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment
d. Failures in immune cell trafficking to tumors
19. An advantage of oncolytic viruses over other cancer immunotherapies is their ability to:
a. Directly kill cancer cells during viral replication
b. Stimulate both innate and adaptive antitumor immunity
c. Cross the blood-brain barrier
d. Target multiple tumor-associated antigens
20. Cytokines are often used to:
a. Block immune checkpoints
b. Stimulate proliferation and activation of immune cells
c. Prime antigen presenting cells
d. Destroy tumor blood vessels
21. Chimeric antigen receptor T cells incorporate receptors targeted against which class of molecule:
a. Cytokines
b. Surface receptors and antigens
c. Intercellular adhesion molecules
d. Chemokines
22. DNA and RNA cancer vaccines aim to induce antitumor immunity by:
a. Generating an adaptive immune response against encoded tumor antigens
b. Direct cytotoxicity mediated by viral oncolysis
c. Blockade of inhibitory immune checkpoints
d. Releasing cytokines upon antigen recognition
23. An advantage of cancer vaccines over other immunotherapies is their ability to:
a. Induce long-term immunological memory
b. Cross-react with multiple tumor-associated antigens
c. Systemically target metastases
d. Rapidly initiate an antitumor response
24. Which of the following is the intended mechanism of immune checkpoint inhibitors?
a. Priming of antigen-specific T cell responses
b. Recruitment of immune cells to tumor sites
c. Release of cytokines to activate immune effector cells
d. Prevention of immune inhibitory signaling in T cells
25. Oncolytic viral therapy involves the use of engineered viruses that selectively:
a. Transduce antigen-presenting cells to stimulate T cells
b. Infect and lyse tumor cells during replication
c. Transfer RNA encoding tumor-associated antigens
d. Home to tumor vasculature rather than normal tissues
26. CAR T-cell therapy development involves what step after genetic modification of T-cells:
a. Collection and isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells
b. Ex vivo stimulation and proliferation of transduced T cells
c. Intratumoral injection and monitoring for antitumor effects
d. Recognition and killing of cancer cells in vivo expressing targeted antigens
27. Cytokines like IL-2 function to:
a. Block inhibitory receptors on T cells
b. Activate NK cells, T cells, and dendritic cells
c. Target tumor antigens for cytotoxic T cells
d. Cross-present antigens to initiate an adaptive immune response
28. Which of the following represents the primary mechanisms of monoclonal antibodies used in cancer immunotherapy?
a. Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity and complement-dependent cytotoxicity
b. Bypassing lymph node filtration of tumor antigens
c. Priming CD8+ T cell responses against targeted tumor antigens
d. Blocking immunosuppressive cytokines in the tumor microenvironment
29. Which of the following vaccines aims to induce an immune response against a nonmutated self-antigen that is overexpressed on cancer cells?
a. Sipuleucel-T
b. Gardasil
c. Pembrolizumab
d. Nivolumab
30. Cancer vaccines differ from traditional vaccines in that they aim to induce immunity against:
a. Conserved cancer-testis antigens
b. Tumor-specific mutated antigens
c. Tissue-specific differentiation antigens
d. Viral or bacterial pathogens
31. For oncolytic viral therapy, an advantage of using viruses that lyse tumor cells is:
a. Recruitment of innate immune cells to the primary tumor
b. Priming of T cells against tumor neoantigens
c. Ability to infect both dividing and non-dividing cells
d. Systemic spread following intratumoral injection
32. Immune checkpoint inhibitors improve antitumor immunity by:
a. Stimulating macrophage phagocytosis of tumor cells
b. Blocking inhibitory receptors like CTLA-4 and PD-1 on T cells
c. Priming naïve T cells against defined tumor antigens
d. Increasing recruitment of effector T cells to tumors
33. Which statement about monoclonal antibody mechanisms of action is false?
a. They sometimes induce antibody-dependent, cell-mediated cytotoxicity
b. They directly kill cancer cells through activation of the complement system
c. They block receptor signaling important for tumor growth and metastasis
d. They enhance cross-presentation of tumor antigens to T cells
34. Cancer immunotherapy aims to do which of the following:
a. Directly kill cancer cells
b. Modulate the immune system’s interaction with tumors
c. Reduce proliferation of cancer stem cells
d. Shuttle chemotherapeutics specifically to tumors
35. Adoptive cell transfer therapy:
a. Transfers large numbers of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes to patients
b. Systemically activates the innate immune system
c. Relies on stimulating an adaptive response against new tumor antigens
d. Requires the use of an MHC-matched allogeneic stem cell donor
36. Which of the following methods aims to generate antigen-specific T cells against defined tumor antigens?
a. Cytokines like IL-2
b. Oncolytic viral therapy
c. Checkpoint inhibitors
d. Cancer vaccines
37. A key advantage of CAR T-cell therapy is the ability to target which class of molecule?
a. Cytokines
b. Surface antigens
c. Co-stimulatory molecules
d. Growth factor receptors
38. Vaccines encoding mRNA or DNA aim to induce:
a. Cytotoxic T cell responses against targeted tumor antigens
b. NK cell cytotoxicity through activation of innate receptors
c. Inhibitory effects on immunosuppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment
d. Bystander elimination of untransduced tumor cells via viral oncolysis
39. Which of the following augments the priming phase of adaptive antitumor immunity:
a. IL-12
b. Anti-CTLA-4 antibodies
c. Oncolytic viruses
d. Adoptive TIL transfer
40. Which statement about cancer immunotherapy mechanisms is true?
a. Vaccines directly deliver chemotherapeutics
b. Monoclonal antibodies rely on macrophage-mediated phagocytosis
c. Cytokines home to tumor vasculature for injection
d. Checkpoint blockade activates NK cell cytotoxicity
41. A advantage of cancer vaccines over other immunotherapies is their ability to induce:
a. Sustained immunological memory against targeted antigens
b. Direct oncolysis synergized with viral immunostimulation
c. Widespread destruction of both primary and metastatic tumors
d. Rapid complement-dependent killing of tumor cells
42. Intratumoral oncolytic virus injection leads to which outcome:
a. Priming of both innate and adaptive antitumor immunity
b. Systemic delivery of virus specifically to metastatic sites
c. Direct toxicity against cancer stem cells without immunomodulation
d. Activation of immunosuppressive cytokines in the tumor microenvironment
43. Adoptive cell transfer therapy enhances antitumor immunity by:
a. Inducing maturation of endogenous dendritic cells
b. Bridging innate and adaptive immunity through viral replicative intermediates
c. Transferring large numbers of activated, tumor-reactive lymphocytes
d. Blocking immunosuppressive receptors on regulatory T cells
44. Sipuleucel-T works by:
a. Blocking PD-1 on T cells
b. Stimulating cytotoxic CD8+ T cell responses
c. Activating NK cell cytotoxicity
d. Targeting tumor vasculature via VEGFR2 blockade
45. A potential advantage of oncolytic viruses over other immunotherapies is their ability to:
a. Induce long-term immune memory against multiple antigens
b. Directly lyse both primary and disseminated tumor deposits
c. Cross-prime CD8+ T cell responses via cytoplasmic antigen release
d. Stimulate both innate and adaptive antitumor immunity upon infection
46. Which statement about checkpoint inhibitor mechanisms is false?
a. They block inhibitory signaling to prevent T cell anergy
b. They activate macrophages to phagocytose tumor cells
c. They prevent suppression of T cells in the tumor microenvironment
d. They enhance cytotoxic T cell function against tumor antigens
47. Cytokines can function as:
a. Co-stimulatory signals for T cells
b. Maturation factors for antigen-presenting cells
c. Growth factors stimulating immune cell proliferation and activation
d. All of the above
48. Adoptive cell transfer aims to overcome which natural limitation of antitumor immunity:
a. Insufficient numbers of tumor-reactive T cells
b. Failure to sustain long-term immune memory
c. Inability to recruit T cells to tumor sites
d. Lack of costimulatory signals in the tumor microenvironment
49. Interleukin-2:
a. Inhibits suppressive immune cells in the tumor microenvironment
b. Activates CD8+ T cells and NK cells
c. Blocks T cell inhibitory receptors
d. Targets tumor vasculature disruption
50. Active cancer immunotherapy differs from passive immunotherapy in:
a. Reliance on adaptive versus innate immunity
b. Induction of antitumor immunity versus direct targeting
c. Transient versus durable therapeutic responses
d. Requirement for adjuvant cytokines versus monoclonal antibodies