Mechanisms of tolerance induced by tumour cells hamper natural and vaccine-induced protective immune responses in cancer patients. Thus, strategies to overcome tolerance and restablish anti-tumour immunity have been attempted. Non-myeloablative haematopoietic cell transplantation can cure patients affected by haematological malignancies but has had limited success against solid tumours. This is possibly because of peripheral tolerance induction and/or suboptimal priming of tumour-specific T lymphocytes.