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Ruan H, Leibowitz BJ, Zhang L, Yu J. Immunogenic cell death in colon cancer prevention and therapy. Mol Carcinog 2020; 59:783-793. [PMID: 32215970 DOI: 10.1002/mc.23183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The colonic mucosa constitutes a critical barrier and a major site of immune regulation. The immune system plays important roles in cancer development and treatment, and immune activation caused by chronic infection or inflammation is well-known to increase cancer risk. During tumor development, neoplastic cells continuously interact with and shape the tumor microenvironment (TME), which becomes progressively immunosuppressive. The clinical success of immune checkpoint blockade therapies is limited to a small set of CRCs with high tumor mutational load and tumor-infiltrating T cells. Induction of immunogenic cell death (ICD), a type of cell death eliciting an immune response, can therefore help break the immunosuppressive TME, engage the innate components, and prime T cell-mediated adaptive immunity for long-term tumor control. In this review, we discuss the current understanding of ICD induced by antineoplastic agents, the influence of driver mutations, and recent developments to harness ICD in colon cancer. Mechanism-guided combinations of ICD-inducing agents with immunotherapy and actionable biomarkers will likely offer more tailored and durable benefits to patients with colon cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hang Ruan
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Brian J Leibowitz
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Lin Zhang
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,Chemical Biology and Pharmacology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Jian Yu
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Fletcher R, Wang YJ, Schoen RE, Finn OJ, Yu J, Zhang L. Colorectal cancer prevention: Immune modulation taking the stage. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2018; 1869:138-148. [PMID: 29391185 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2017.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2017] [Revised: 12/12/2017] [Accepted: 12/13/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Prevention or early detection is one of the most promising strategies against colorectal cancer (CRC), the second leading cause of cancer death in the US. Recent studies indicate that antitumor immunity plays a key role in CRC prevention. Accumulating evidence suggests that immunosurveillance represents a critical barrier that emerging tumor cells have to overcome in order to sustain the course of tumor development. Virtually all of the agents with cancer preventive activity have been shown to have an immune modulating effect. A number of immunoprevention studies aimed at triggering antitumor immune response against early lesions have been performed, some of which have shown promising results. Furthermore, the recent success of immune checkpoint blockade therapy reinforces the notion that cancers including CRC can be effectively intervened via immune modulation including immune normalization, and has stimulated various immune-based combination prevention studies. This review summarizes recent advances to help better harness the immune system in CRC prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rochelle Fletcher
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Yi-Jun Wang
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Robert E Schoen
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Olivera J Finn
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Jian Yu
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Lin Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
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