The immune cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME) exert multifaceted functions ranging from tumor-antagonizing or tumor-promoting activities. During the initial phases of tumor development, the tumor-antagonizing immune cells in the TME combat cancer cells in an immune surveillance process. However, with time, cancer cells can evade detection and impede the immune cells' effectiveness through diverse mechanisms, such as decreasing immunogenic antigen presentation on their surfaces and/or secreting anti-immune factors that cause tolerance in TME. Moreover, some immune cells cause immunosuppressive situations and inhibit antitumoral immune responses. Physical and cellular-mediated barriers in the TME, such as cancer-associated fibroblasts, tumor endothelium, the altered lipid composition of tumor cells, and exosomes secreted from cancer cells, also mediate immunosuppression and prevent extravasation of immune cells. Due to successful clinical outcomes of cancer treatment strategies the potential barriers must be identified and addressed. We need to figure out how to optimize cancer immunotherapy strategies, and how to combine therapeutic approaches for maximum clinical benefit. This review provides a detailed overview of various cells and molecules in the TME, their association with escaping from immune surveillance, therapeutic targets, and future perspectives for improving cancer immunotherapy.
Keywords: Cellular barriers; Immune cells; Immune evading; Immune surveillance; Immunosuppression; Tumor microenvironment.
Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.