Metastases in Immune-Mediated Dormancy: A New Opportunity for Targeting Cancer

Abstract

The aim of any anticancer treatment is to avoid, control, or eliminate disseminated tumor cells. Clinical and experimental evidence has revealed that metastases can remain in a latency state, that is, metastasis dormancy. Three mechanisms are thought to be involved in cancer dormancy: cellular dormancy, angiogenic dormancy, and immune-mediated dormancy. Here, we review the mechanisms and cells involved in immune-mediated cancer dormancy and discuss current and future immunotherapeutic strategies.

The urgent need to recover MHC class I in cancers for effective immunotherapy

“…Tumor cells capable of generating these dormant metastatic colonies are very exceptional; they were completely negative for MHC-I, but the dormant micrometastases recovered MHC-I surface expression (Figure 1) [15 •• ]. These results suggested that MHC-I surface expression and CD8 + T lymphocytes play an important role in immune-mediated dormancy [46] (Figure 1). …”

A primer on recent developments in cancer immunotherapy, with a focus on neoantigen vaccines

“…The hypothesis of cancer dormancy posits that tumor cells may disseminate early and are forced into dormancy in order to survive immune surveillance [182,183] . From this perspective, one goal of immunotherapy is to keep such cells dormant, as opposed to attempting to eliminate them all [184,185] . Such topics have been covered in a chapter-length review, including the different kinds of dormancy, the role of circulating tumor cells and of innate and adaptive immune cells, and ideas for keeping dormant tumor cell indolent [186] .…”

Breast cancer molecular subtypes and the metastatic microenvironment: Review of literature

“…The pre-metastatic niche also regulates tumour dormancy between the MTCs and reactivates them when the pre-metastatic niche is ready and suitable for the growth of the tumour. The well-established pre-metastatic niche is then competent for the initiation and formation of micrometastases [38] .…”