Cancer-associated fibroblasts: Accomplices in the tumor immune evasion

Marc Hilmi (1, 2, 3) , Rémy Nicolle (4) , Corinne Bousquet (5) , Cindy Neuzillet (1, 2, 3)

1 UVSQ - Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
2 Département d'Oncologie Médicale [Institut Curie, Paris]
3 GERCOR - Cooperator Multidisciplinary Oncology Group
4 Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer - Paris
5 UMR1037, Cancer Research Center of Toulouse

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are prominent cells within the tumor microenvironment, by communicating with other cells within the tumor and by secreting the extracellular matrix components. The discovery of the immunogenic role of CAFs has made their study particularly attractive due to the potential applications in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Indeed, CAFs are highly involved in tumor immune evasion by physically impeding the immune system and interacting with both myeloid and lymphoid cells. However, CAFs do not represent a single cell entity but are divided into several subtypes with different functions that may be antagonistic. Considering that CAFs are orchestrators of the tumor microenvironment and modulate immune cells, targeting their functions may be a promising strategy. In this review, we provide an overview of (i) the mechanisms involved in immune regulation by CAFs and (ii) the therapeutic applications of CAFs modulation to improve the antitumor immune response and the effcacy of immunotherapy.

Mots clés: Cancer-associated fibroblasts; Cell communication; Immunology; Tumor microenvironment; cancer-associated fibroblasts; immunology; tumor microenvironment; cell communication

Domaines: Cancer

Marc Hilmi, Rémy Nicolle, Corinne Bousquet, Cindy Neuzillet. Cancer-associated fibroblasts: Accomplices in the tumor immune evasion. Cancers, 2020, 12 (10), pp.1-23. ⟨10.3390/cancers12102969⟩. ⟨hal-02984260⟩