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Cytokine-based transformation of immune surveillance into tumor-promoting inflammation

Oncogene volume 27, pages 5913–5919 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

During the last decade, it has become clear that the mammalian immune system is able to recognize and partially suppress nascent tumors. Human T cells specific to oncogenes and onco-fetal antigens are present in human cancer patients and their tumors. At the same time, molecular links between tumor-associated inflammation and tumor progression have been uncovered, providing an explanation for the long recognized epidemiological link between inflammation and cancer. The synopsis of these findings suggests a new interpretation of tumor immunity. It appears that antigen recognition or antigen-specific T-cell expansion at large is not as profoundly impaired in tumor patients as the correct polarization, the survival and the effector function of tumor-infiltrating T cells. This review will focus on pro-inflammatory cytokines likely to contribute to the deregulation of tumor-specific immunity and its consequences.

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  1. Department of Oncology, Schering-Plough Biopharma (formerly DNAX), Palo Alto, CA, USA

    J B Mumm & M Oft

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Mumm, J., Oft, M. Cytokine-based transformation of immune surveillance into tumor-promoting inflammation. Oncogene 27, 5913–5919 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/onc.2008.275

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