Cancer Immune Modulation and Immunosuppressive Cells: Current and Future Therapeutic Approaches

In the last decade, the role of the immune system in cancer pathology has received growing attention. Immune populations, such as T and B lymphocytes, NK cells, and macrophages, are able to mount an anti-tumor immune response, which can impair tumor growth. Nonetheless, cancer progression is usually associated with the expansion of additional cell subsets that inhibit the natural immunity to tumors and actively support tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. Their presence represents an obstacle to the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy. Cells of myeloid origin with strong immunosuppressive and tumor-promoting properties, such as myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), are major players in this process.