Stemness in solid malignancies: coping with immune attack.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Cancer Stem Cell Biology

Background:

• Immunotherapy is a cornerstone of cancer treatment, necessitating understanding of immune evasion mechanisms.
• Tumors exhibit cellular heterogeneity, often driven by cancer stem cells (CSCs) with stem cell-like properties.
• CSCs possess self-renewal and differentiation capabilities, alongside remarkable resistance to immune responses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review how CSCs in solid tumors develop immune evasion strategies.
• To explore how malignant transformation of tissue stem cells activates immune evasion.
• To discuss CSCs' hijacking of normal stem cell features to resist immunity in advanced disease.

Main Methods:

• Literature review focusing on CSC-specific immune evasion in solid tumors.
• Analysis of mechanisms by which tissue stem cells activate immune evasion during oncogenesis.
• Examination of CSC interactions with immune cells and their resistance strategies.

Main Results:

• CSCs employ unique immune-evasive mechanisms that drive tumor regrowth and treatment relapse.
• Malignant transformation activates intrinsic immune evasion and promotes interactions with suppressive immune cells.
• Advanced stage CSCs utilize normal stem cell features to resist anti-tumor immunity.

Conclusions:

• Current immunotherapies often fail due to overlooking CSC-specific immune evasion.
• Targeting CSCs is crucial for overcoming cancer relapse and improving treatment efficacy.
• Future immunotherapies should be designed to eliminate CSCs for durable cancer remission.