Immune cell promotion of metastasis

T Kitamura, BZ Qian, JW Pollard - Nature Reviews Immunology, 2015 - nature.com
T Kitamura, BZ Qian, JW Pollard
Nature Reviews Immunology, 2015nature.com
Metastatic disease is the major cause of death from cancer, and immunotherapy and
chemotherapy have had limited success in reversing its progression. Data from mouse
models suggest that the recruitment of immunosuppressive cells to tumours protects
metastatic cancer cells from surveillance by killer cells, which nullifies the effects of
immunotherapy and thus establishes metastasis. Furthermore, in most cases, tumour-
infiltrating immune cells differentiate into cells that promote each step of the metastatic …
Abstract
Metastatic disease is the major cause of death from cancer, and immunotherapy and chemotherapy have had limited success in reversing its progression. Data from mouse models suggest that the recruitment of immunosuppressive cells to tumours protects metastatic cancer cells from surveillance by killer cells, which nullifies the effects of immunotherapy and thus establishes metastasis. Furthermore, in most cases, tumour-infiltrating immune cells differentiate into cells that promote each step of the metastatic cascade and thus are novel targets for therapy. In this Review, we describe how tumour-infiltrating immune cells contribute to the metastatic cascade and we discuss potential therapeutic strategies to target these cells.
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