Department of General, Visceral, and Transplant Surgery, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, Munich, Germany.
German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany.
J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2023 May;149(5):2191-2210. doi: 10.1007/s00432-022-04310-9. Epub 2022 Sep 1.
The formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) was initially discovered as a novel immune response against pathogens. Recent studies have also suggested that NETs play an important role in tumor progression. This review summarizes the cellular mechanisms by which NETs promote distant metastasis and discusses the possible clinical applications targeting NETs.
The relevant literature from PubMed and Google Scholar (2001-2021) have been reviewed for this article.
The presence of NETs has been detected in various primary tumors and metastatic sites. NET-associated interactions have been observed throughout the different stages of metastasis, including initial tumor cell detachment, intravasation and extravasation, the survival of circulating tumor cells, the settlement and the growth of metastatic tumor cells. Several in vitro and in vivo studies proved that inhibiting NET formation resulted in anti-cancer effects. The biosafety and efficacy of some NET inhibitors have also been demonstrated in early phase clinical trials.
Considering the role of NETs in tumor progression, NETs could be a promising diagnostic and therapeutic target for cancer management. However, current evidence is mostly derived from experimental models and as such more clinical studies are still needed to verify the clinical significance of NETs in oncological settings.
中性粒细胞胞外诱捕网（NETs）的形成最初被发现是一种针对病原体的新型免疫反应。最近的研究还表明，NETs 在肿瘤进展中发挥着重要作用。本文总结了 NETs 促进远处转移的细胞机制，并讨论了针对 NETs 的可能临床应用。
本文综述了来自 PubMed 和 Google Scholar（2001-2021 年）的相关文献。
已经在各种原发性肿瘤和转移性部位检测到 NETs 的存在。在转移的不同阶段都观察到了与 NET 相关的相互作用，包括初始肿瘤细胞脱落、血管内和血管外迁移、循环肿瘤细胞的存活、转移肿瘤细胞的定居和生长。一些体外和体内研究证实，抑制 NET 形成可产生抗癌作用。一些 NET 抑制剂的生物安全性和疗效也在早期临床试验中得到了证实。
鉴于 NETs 在肿瘤进展中的作用，NETs 可能成为癌症管理有前途的诊断和治疗靶点。然而，目前的证据主要来自于实验模型，因此仍需要更多的临床研究来验证 NETs 在肿瘤学环境中的临床意义。
