Dual Roles of Immune Cells and Their Factors in Cancer Development and Progression

Traditional wisdom holds that intact immune responses, such as immune surveillance or immunoediting, are required for preventing and inhibiting tumor development; but recent evidence has also indicated that unresolved immune responses, such as chronic inflammation, can promote the growth and progression of cancer. Within the immune system, cytotoxic CD8(+) and CD4(+) Th1 T cells, along with their characteristically produced cytokine IFN-γ, function as the major anti-tumor immune effector cells, whereas tumor associated macrophages (TAM) or myeloid-derived suppressive cells (MDSC) and their derived cytokines IL-6, TNF, IL-1β and IL-23 are generally recognized as dominant tumor-promoting forces. However, the…

• NI
  National Institutes of Health
• NI
  National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research