Molecular Mechanisms of Immunogenic Cell Death

The magnitude of the tumor response to therapy crucially depends on the synergic interaction between immune cells and hitten cancer cells. The ideal cancer treatment should elicit immunogenic cell death (ICD) thus merging direct cytotoxicity with enhanced immunogenicity. The immunogenicity of the dying cancer cells relies on subtle changes in their surface proteome and the secretion of soluble molecules known as damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). This concept of “dying the right way” is vital for the immune system to be instructed to control residual ill cells and maintain micrometastases in a stage of dormancy. Cancer medicine seeks winning strategies combining chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Decoding the concepts and mechanisms that underlie chemotherapy-induced ICD may help shed light on the design of new combined regimens.