The Significance of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in Colorectal Cancer and Beyond: From Bench to Bedside

Dingchang Li; Jiakang Shao; Bo Cao; Ruiyang Zhao; Hanghang Li; Wenxing Gao; Peng Chen; Lujia Jin; Li Cao; Shuaifei Ji; Guanglong Dong

doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.848594

The Significance of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in Colorectal Cancer and Beyond: From Bench to Bedside

Front Oncol. 2022 Jun 7:12:848594. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.848594. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Dingchang Li^{1

2}, Jiakang Shao², Bo Cao^{1

2}, Ruiyang Zhao^{1

2}, Hanghang Li^{1

2}, Wenxing Gao^{1

2}, Peng Chen^{1

2}, Lujia Jin^{1

2}, Li Cao¹, Shuaifei Ji², Guanglong Dong¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of General Surgery, the First Medical Centre, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
² Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), products of neutrophil death when exposed to certain stimuli, were first proposed as a type of response to bacterial infection in infectious diseases. Since then, extensive studies have discovered its involvement in other non-infectious inflammatory diseases including thromboembolism, autoimmune diseases, and cancer. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies in the world. NET formation is closely associated with tumorigenesis, progression, and metastasis in CRC. Therefore, the application of NETs in clinical practice as diagnostic biomarkers, therapeutic targets, and prognostic predictors has a promising prospect. In addition, therapeutics targeting NETs are significantly efficient in halting tumor progression in preclinical cancer models, which further indicates its potential clinical utility in cancer treatment. This review focuses on the stimuli of NETosis, its pro-tumorigenic activity, and prospective clinical utility primarily in but not limited to CRC.

Keywords: clinical application; colorectal cancer; metastasis; neutrophil extracellular traps; tumor microenvironment.

Publication types

Review