Comparisons of basic experimental immunology and immunology-molecular pathological epidemiology (MPE)
| Basic experimental immunology | Immunology-MPE | |
| Research subjects | Immune system in in vivo or in vitro models | Human populations |
| Exposure data (diet, lifestyle, medications, etc.) | Easily control and record exposure data | Possible to collect exposure data |
| Control of environmental or other conditions | Yes | Difficult; a targeted control can be done by randomised trials |
| Evaluation of the human immune system | Can be done using human immune cells. It is still a challenge to recapitulate the human immune system in experimental models. Encompassing the complexity of systemic and local tumour-related immunity is difficult. | Can be done. It is still a challenge to evaluate immunity status in the local microenvironment if access to tissue is difficult. Encompassing the complexity of systemic and local tumour-related immunity may be possible. |
| In vivo evaluation | Possible | Difficult; can be done by in vivo pathology or molecular imaging |
| Large sample size | Difficult | Possible |
| Insight into mechanisms | Possible | Immunology-MPE can provide mechanistic insights, which need to be verified by basic experimental research |
| Generalisability and validity in humans | Generalisability and validity of findings from model systems need to be examined in human populations | As research on human populations, immunology-MPE can be a validation method for findings from experimental research |