The Role of Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) in Cancer Immunotherapy

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Cancer Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (4 August 2024) | Viewed by 1836

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Division of Hematology/Oncology, Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA
Interests: genitourinary malignancies; cancer stem cells; intratumoral heterogeneity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is evident that immunotherapy, particularly anti-PD1/L1 therapy, has revolutionized cancer therapy. However, it is not yet clear why anti-PD1/L1 is effective while other checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs), such as those targeting CTLA4, IDO-1, and TIGIT may be less effective or not effective at all. Could the reason for cancer immunotherapies not being equal be that the successful ones also target cancer stem cells (CSC) rather than just modulating immune effector cells? Could this be the reason many promising cancer immunotherapies, such as cancer vaccines and IL-2 modulating agents, turn out to be rather disappointing, because they failed to consider the role of CSC in the cancer-immunity cycle?

This Special Issue aims to inspire research and provide data to elucidate a stemness origin and nature of cancer as exemplified by CSC that may enable us to improve the design of cancer immunotherapy specifically and of cancer therapy generally. It may empower us to identify patients with the right tumor phenotypes who may benefit from immunotherapy. Importantly, it may inform us regarding how and when to combine immunotherapy with other therapeutic modalities to target different tumor compartments, components, and the microenvironment, comprising both CSC and differentiated cancer cells to optimize the therapeutic benefits of immunotherapy in cancer care.

Dr. Shi-Ming Tu
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • cancer stem cells
  • cancer-initiating cell
  • immunotherapy
  • cancer vaccines
  • checkpoint inhibitors
  • tumor neoantigens
  • cancer immunity
  • immune microenvironment

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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17 pages, 641 KiB  
Perspective
Stem Cell Origin of Cancer: Clinical Implications for Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
by Shi-Ming Tu, Ahmet Murat Aydin, Sanjay Maraboyina, Zhongning Chen, Sunny Singh, Neriman Gokden and Timothy Langford
Cancers 2023, 15(22), 5385; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15225385 - 13 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1312
Abstract
A simple way to understand the immune system is to separate the self from non-self. If it is self, the immune system tolerates and spares. If it is non-self, the immune system attacks and destroys. Consequently, if cancer has a stem cell origin [...] Read more.
A simple way to understand the immune system is to separate the self from non-self. If it is self, the immune system tolerates and spares. If it is non-self, the immune system attacks and destroys. Consequently, if cancer has a stem cell origin and is a stem cell disease, we have a serious problem and a major dilemma with immunotherapy. Because many refractory cancers are more self than non-self, immunotherapy may become an uphill battle and pyrrhic victory in cancer care. In this article, we elucidate cancer immunity. We demonstrate for whom, with what, as well as when and how to apply immunotherapy in cancer care. We illustrate that a stem cell theory of cancer affects our perspectives and narratives of cancer. Without a pertinent theory about cancer’s origin and nature, we may unwittingly perform misdirected cancer research and prescribe misguided cancer treatments. In the ongoing saga of immunotherapy, we are at a critical juncture. Because of the allure and promises of immunotherapy, we will be treating more patients not immediately threatened by their cancer. They may have more to lose than to gain, if we have a misconception and if we are on a wrong mission with immunotherapy. According to the stem cell theory of cancer, we should be careful with immunotherapy. When we do not know or realize that cancer originates from a stem cell and has stem-ness capabilities, we may cause more harm than good in some patients and fail to separate the truth from the myth about immunotherapy in cancer care. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) in Cancer Immunotherapy)
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