Ruiu Roberto, Di Lorenzo Antonino, Cavallo Federica, Conti Laura
Molecular Biotechnology Center, Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
Front Oncol. 2022 Apr 21;12:877384. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.877384. eCollection 2022.
There is substantial evidence to suggest that complete tumor eradication relies on the effective elimination of cancer stem cells (CSCs). CSCs have been widely described as mediators of resistance to conventional therapies, including chemo- and radiotherapy, as well as of tumor metastasization and relapse in different tumor types, including breast cancer. However, the resistant phenotype of CSCs makes their targeting a tough task, and immunotherapy may therefore be an interesting option. Nevertheless, although immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer treatment have generated great enthusiasm due to recent success in clinics, breast cancer treatment mostly relies on standard approaches. In this context, we review the existing literature on the immunological properties of breast CSC and immunotherapeutic approaches to them. We will thus attempt to clarify whether there is room for the immunotargeting of breast CSCs in the current landscape of breast cancer therapies. Finally, we will provide our opinion on the CSC-targeting immunotherapeutic strategies that could prospectively be attempted.
有大量证据表明，肿瘤的彻底根除依赖于对癌症干细胞（CSCs）的有效清除。在包括乳腺癌在内的不同肿瘤类型中，CSCs被广泛认为是对传统疗法（包括化疗和放疗）产生耐药性的介质，也是肿瘤转移和复发的介质。然而，CSCs的耐药表型使其靶向治疗成为一项艰巨的任务，因此免疫疗法可能是一个有趣的选择。尽管如此，尽管癌症治疗的免疫疗法由于近期在临床上的成功而引起了极大的热情，但乳腺癌治疗大多仍依赖于标准方法。在此背景下，我们回顾了关于乳腺CSC免疫特性及针对它们的免疫治疗方法的现有文献。因此，我们将试图阐明在当前乳腺癌治疗格局中，乳腺CSC的免疫靶向治疗是否有空间。最后，我们将对未来可能尝试的靶向CSC的免疫治疗策略发表我们的看法。
