Progress of IL-10 and liver metastasis

Liver metastasis can occur in a wide range of cancers and have a significant impact on patient survival and prognosis. Once liver metastasis occurs, patients often lose the opportunity for surgery, and although a small percentage of patients can undergo hepatic resection to prolong survival, the benefit is not great. There were also many factors affecting liver metastasis, including reprogramming of the primary tumor metabolism, disturbances in the immune microenvironment and immune cells, alterations in the gut microbiota, and epigenetic changes. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) has a dual role as a cytokine that has been found in recent years to be pro-inflammatory as well as pro-liver metastasis. IL-10 exerts pro-metastatic effects mainly by regulating the polarization of tumor macrophages in the tumor microenvironment, especially by promoting the polarization of M2 macrophages. However, the role of IL-10 in tumorigenesis and progression remains controversial and the molecular mechanism involved in promoting liver metastasis is currently unclear. In view of the increasing role of IL-10 in promoting liver metastasis, this review summarizes the role of IL-10 in liver metastasis of colorectal cancer, breast cancer and other tumors in recent years, and provides ideas for subsequent clinical practice and basic research.