Mechanisms of immune evasion in breast cancer

Abstract

Tumors develop multiple mechanisms of immune evasion as they progress, with some cancer types being inherently better at ‘hiding’ than others. With an increased understanding of tumor immune surveillance, immunotherapy has emerged as a promising treatment strategy for breast cancer, despite historically being thought of as an immunologically silent neoplasm. Some types of cancer, such as melanoma, bladder, and renal cell carcinoma, have demonstrated a durable response to immunotherapeutic intervention, however, breast neoplasms have not shown the same efficacy. The causes of breast cancer’s immune silence derive from mechanisms that diminish immune recognition and others that promote strong immunosuppression. It is the mechanisms of immune evasion in breast cancers that are poorly defined. Thus, further characterization is critical for the development of better therapies. This brief review will seek to provide insight into the possible causes of weak immunogenicity and immune suppression mediated by breast cancers and highlight current immunotherapies being used to restore immune responses to breast cancer.

<p>Predictive Value of Lymphocyte-Related Blood Parameters at the Time Point of Lymphocyte Nadir During Radiotherapy in Breast Cancer</p>

“…It illustrated that LRBP could reflect the condition of immune status at the time points of baseline and pre-operation, and immune status, as is well-known, has a close relationship with tumor progression and metastasis. 3,5,15 Similar outcomes were found in previous studies investigating the correlation between LRBP of both baseline and pre-operation and breast cancer prognosis. 6,8,10,[28][29][30] The mean ALC, NLR, and PLR of baseline group were 1.86±0.59 (×10 9 cells/L), 2.18±0.98, and 142.11±51.14, respectively, and the mean ALC, NLR, and PLR of pre-operation group in 211 patients were 1.68 ±0.56 (×10 9 cells/L), 2.07±1.02, and 162.59±70.59, respectively.…”

“…Lymphocytes play an important role in cellular immunity against malignant cells. 3,15 Various studies have proven that low ALC is related to worse prognosis in different cancers, including head and neck cancer, esophageal cancer, rectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, small-cell lung cancer, and breast cancer. [16][17][18][19][20] Neutrophils were considered to have a relationship with tumor progression and metastasis by releasing immune mediators, such as interleukin-8, neutrophil elastase, and matrix metalloproteinase-9.…”

Myeloid‐derived suppressor cells: Roles in the tumor microenvironment and tumor radiotherapy

“…The role of MDSC in tumor microenvironment is dual. On the one hand, MDSCs can directly participate in the formation of pre‐metastatic niches and promote the metastasis of tumor cells by infiltrating primary tumors, and promoting tumor angiogenesis by secreting cytokines including TGF‐β, MMP9, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), Bv8, and bFGF; on the other hand, MDSCs can also inhibit immune function to accelerate the tumor progression. Chemokines and related cytokines in tumor microenvironment play a key role in the migration of MDSCs to tumor sites to perform immunosuppressive function.…”

LAceModule: Identification of Competing Endogenous RNA Modules by Integrating Dynamic Correlation

“…Totally, we obtained eight BRCA associated modules (Table 4, Figure 5A, Supplementary File 5). The top five most significant enriched functions and pathways of these modules are shown in Figures 5B,C. We found that six of eight modules are significantly enriched for breast cancer-associated functions and pathways, such as immune response (Module 90 and Module 309) (Bates et al, 2018), cell communication (Module 110) (Brooks and Wicha, 2015), cell cycle (Module 73) (Otto and Sicinski, 2017), blood vessel morphogenesis (Module 45) (Kakolyris et al, 2000), and sucrose process (Module 37) (Jiang et al, 2016).…”