Influence of Genetic, Dietary, and Environmental Factors on Natural Killer (NK) Cell Biology and Function: Interplay Between NK Cell Activity and Cancer Onset or Progression.

The connection between NK cells and cancer offers valuable insights into disease management. Suppressing NK cells can encourage cancer growth, while cancer itself can weaken NK cell function. This review examines how genetic and environmental factors such as diet affect NK cell numbers and function during the early stages of cancer. It also explores the reduced NK cell activity in cancer-bearing mouse models and human patients. The mechanisms behind cytotoxic actions and cytokine release are analyzed across four NK cell maturation stages. This understanding highlights the potential of using healthy donor NK cells for immunotherapy, alongside the role of memory NK cells in treatments. While NK cell-based therapies show promise in studies, challenges remain in sustaining their effectiveness and durability. This review also discusses strategies to improve production and boost the efficiency of donor NK cell therapies.