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Harnessing Natural Killer Cell Function for Genitourinary Cancers

Nina Bhardwaj1, Adam M Farkas2, Zeynep Gul3

  • 1Department of Hematology & Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, The Tisch Cancer Institute, Hess CSM Building 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10029, USA.

The Urologic Clinics of North America
|October 3, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Natural killer (NK) cells fight tumors but are often dysfunctional in urologic cancers. Interfering with inhibitory signals shows promise for restoring NK cell anti-tumor activity.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Oncology

Background:

  • Natural killer (NK) cells are crucial innate immune cells for identifying and destroying cancerous and virally infected cells.
  • While T-cell immunotherapies have advanced, NK-cell roles in solid tumors, particularly their infiltration and modulation, require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the current understanding of NK-cell infiltration in urologic tumors.
  • To explore the functional status of these NK cells.
  • To discuss strategies for overcoming NK-cell dysfunction in the tumor microenvironment.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent scientific literature on NK cells and urologic malignancies.
  • Analysis of studies investigating NK-cell infiltration and function within tumors.
  • Examination of immunomodulatory strategies targeting NK-cell inhibitory pathways.

Main Results:

  • Urologic tumors are frequently infiltrated by NK cells.
  • NK cells within these tumors often exhibit impaired cytotoxic activity and function.
  • Evidence suggests that blocking inhibitory NK-cell receptors can enhance their anti-tumor capabilities.

Conclusions:

  • NK cells are present in urologic tumors but are frequently suppressed.
  • Targeting inhibitory axes presents a viable therapeutic strategy to restore NK-cell function against cancer.
Keywords:
Bladder cancerGenitourinary cancerImmunotherapyNK cellsNatural killer cellsRCCRenal cancer

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