Immune regulation of therapy-resistant niches: emerging targets for improving anticancer drug responses

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Oncology
• Cancer Therapeutics

Background:

• Immunological parameters are crucial for predicting tumor prognosis and response to anticancer therapies.
• Anticancer drug responsiveness alters tumor-infiltrating immune cells, impacting tumor growth and therapy resistance.
• Different anticancer modalities uniquely influence immune cell interactions within the tumor microenvironment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which distinct anticancer strategies modulate the communication between tumor and immune cells.
• To understand the overlapping and unique roles of various therapeutic modalities in regulating immune cell dynamics within the tumor microenvironment.

Main Methods:

• Review and analysis of emerging evidence on the interplay between cancer therapies and the tumor immune microenvironment.
• Examination of molecular machineries governing immune cell regulation by cytotoxic chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and molecular-targeted therapy.

Main Results:

• Anticancer treatments significantly modify immune cell repertoires, phenotypes, and immunogenicity.
• Therapeutic modalities exert distinct or overlapping influences on tumor-associated immune functions and tumor-immune cell cross-talk.
• Understanding these interactions is essential for predicting treatment outcomes and resistance.

Conclusions:

• Precise understanding of how anticancer strategies regulate tumor-immune cell communication is critical.
• Harnessing the immune system based on this understanding may offer new avenues to overcome resistance to conventional anticancer drugs.