Cells of the innate immunity infiltrating tumour tissues promote, rather than halt, cancer cell proliferation and distant spreading. Tumour-Associated Macrophages (TAMs) are abundantly present in the tumour milieu and here trigger and perpetrate a state of chronic inflammation which ultimately supports disease development and contributes to an immune-suppressive environment. Therapeutic strategies to limit inflammatory cells and their products have been successful in pre-clinical tumour models. Early clinical trials with specific cytokine and chemokine inhibitors, or with strategies designed to target TAMs, are on their way in different solid malignancies. Partial clinical responses and stabilization of diseases were observed in some patients, in the absence of significant toxicity. These encouraging results open new perspectives of combination treatments aimed at reducing cancer-promoting inflammation to maximize the anti-tumour efficacy.

Institute of Microbiology Czech Academy of Sciences Prague Czech Republic

IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas Rozzano Milan Italy

IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas Rozzano Milan Italy; Università Piemonte Orientale Novara Italy

References provided by Crossref.org

Local Immune Changes in Early Stages of Inflammation and Carcinogenesis Correlate with the Collagen Scaffold Changes of the Colon Mucosa

Spontaneous and Induced Tumors in Germ-Free Animals: A General Review