Chemokines in cancer

Chemokines participate, by regulating cell trafficking and controlling angiogenesis, in the host response during infection and inflammation. Most of these mechanisms are also operating in cancer. The stimulation of angiogenesis and tumor growth--directly or indirectly through the recruitment of tumor-associated macrophages--are typical situations where chemokines promote tumor development. On the other hand, chemokines could be used to the benefit of cancer patients as they act in the recruitment of dendritic cells (DC) or/and effector cells or for their angiostatic properties. However, chemokine-mediated recruitment of immature DC within tumors, due to factors produced by the tumor milieu, could lead to the induction of immune tolerance and, therefore, novel strategies to eradicate tumors based on chemokines should attempt to avoid this risk.