Immune Response Regulation has Therapeutic Potential in the Treatment of Cancer

Abstract

Background: Depending on their path of differentiation, immune cells can have opposing roles in tumour progression. As a result, during growth, tumours undergo selective pressure to produce immunosuppressive factors that contribute to tumour growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis. This review discusses the contribution of different macrophages and T cells to tumour progression, as well as their role in current cancer immunotherapies.

Methods: We searched for articles online through McGill Library with search terms including the names of different immune cells along with “polarity”, “tumour progression”, or “cancer immunotherapy”. Cancer therapies “CTLA-4 blockade”, “Ipilimumab”, “adoptive cell transfer”, and “PD1 inhibition” were also used as search terms.

Summary: Depending on the cell types involved, crosstalk between different immune cells in the tumour stroma can contribute to either the development or the inhibition of tumour growth. Certain therapies such as adoptive cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTLs) transfer and CTLA-4 & PD1 inhibition work by enhancing CTL tumoricidal responses, and have produced durable responses in a small but significant group of patients. Other therapies work by skewing the phenotype of tumour associated macrophages from pro-tumorigenic to anti-tumorigenic. However, disrupting the balance between immune cell functions risks triggering inflammatory disorders such as autoimmunity. Therefore, future directions in cancer immunotherapy include targeting potential responders and restricting therapeutic mechanisms to the tumour microenvironment.