Open AccessThe Role of Innate Immunity in the Pathogenesis of Breast Cancer
Author(s) -
Damir Grebić,
Tamara Gulić,
Alma Starčević,
Manuela Alvirović,
Gordana Blagojević Zagorac,
Petra Valković Zujić,
Danijela Veljković Vujaklija
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
breast care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.767
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1661-3805
pISSN - 1661-3791
DOI - 10.1159/000507314
Subject(s) - medicine , breast cancer , cancer , immunology , innate immune system , population , tumor microenvironment , immunity , cancer research , inflammation , disease , immune system , pathology , environmental health
Background: Breast carcinoma is the most common malignant disease in the female population and one of the leading causes of death among women worldwide. One crucial hallmark of cancer is chronic inflammation where the immunosuppressive environment is dominant. The immunosuppressive environment is largely achieved by the interaction of tumor cells and infiltrating leukocytes. Summary: Usually, human macrophages and natural killer cells are involved in antitumor immunity. The therapeutic potential of this population against cancers has stimulated their study and led to the discovery of several different tumor-associated macrophages and natural killer cell subsets, each of which is endowed with different immunoregulatory functions. Both heterogeneity and plasticity of the tumor-associated macrophages and natural killer cell compartment, which are both tightly linked to the tumor microenvironment of different breast cancer types. Key Messages: The identification of specific tumor-associated macrophages and natural killer cell subsets endowed with particular functional capabilities might help monitor tumor-mediated responses in breast cancer patients. Currently, one of the most used strategies for breast cancer of newly diagnosed patients is neoadjuvant chemotherapy.