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Cancer stem cells as targets for immunotherapy
Author(s) -
Codd Amy S.,
Kanaseki Takayuki,
Torigo Toshihiko,
Tabi Zsuzsanna
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.297
H-Index - 133
eISSN - 1365-2567
pISSN - 0019-2805
DOI - 10.1111/imm.12866
Subject(s) - cancer stem cell , cancer , stem cell , cancer immunotherapy , cancer research , immune system , biology , cancer cell , immunotherapy , antigen , immunology , population , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , environmental health
Summary Current cancer therapies target the bulk of the tumour, while a population of highly resistant tumour cells may be able to repopulate the tumour and metastasize to new sites. Cancer cells with such stem cell‐like characteristics can be identified based on their phenotypical and/or functional features which may open up ways for their targeted elimination. In this review we discuss potential off‐target effects of inhibiting cancer stem‐cell self‐renewal pathways on immune cells, and summarize some recent immunological studies specifically targeting cancer stem cells based on their unique antigen expression.