Targeting breast cancer stem cells directly to treat refractory breast cancer

Liping Pan; Juan Han; Ming Lin

doi:10.3389/fonc.2023.981247

Targeting breast cancer stem cells directly to treat refractory breast cancer

Front Oncol. 2023 May 12:13:981247. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.981247. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Liping Pan¹, Juan Han², Ming Lin²

Affiliations

¹ Wuhan Center for Clinical Laboratory, Wuhan, China.
² Department of Pediatrics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.

Abstract

For patients with refractory breast cancer (BC), integrative immunotherapies are emerging as a critical component of treatment. However, many patients remain unresponsive to treatment or relapse after a period. Different cells and mediators in the tumor microenvironment (TME) play important roles in the progression of BC, and cancer stem cells (CSCs) are deemed the main cause of relapse. Their characteristics depend on their interactions with their microenvironment as well as on the inducing factors and elements in this environment. Strategies to modulate the immune system in the TME of BC that are aimed at reversing the suppressive networks within it and eradicating residual CSCs are, thus, essential for improving the current therapeutic efficacy of BC. This review focuses on the development of immunoresistance in BCs and discusses the strategies that can modulate the immune system and target breast CSCs directly to treat BC including immunotherapy with immune checkpoint blockades.

Keywords: breast cancer; cancer stem cells; immunoresistance; immunotherapy; oncology.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This study was supported by a grant from the National Nature Science Foundation of China (82000175) and Science Foundation of Wuhan Municipal Health Commission (NO. WX21B16).