Tackling tumor microenvironment through epigenetic tools to improve cancer immunotherapy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Epigenetic alterations are known contributors to cancer development and aggressiveness. Additional to alterations in cancer cells, aberrant epigenetic marks are present in cells of the tumor microenvironment, including lymphocytes and tumor-associated macrophages, which are often overlooked but known to be a contributing factor to a favorable environment for tumor growth. Therefore, the main aim of this review is to give an overview of the epigenetic alterations affecting immune cells in the tumor microenvironment to provoke an immunosuppressive function and contribute to cancer development. Moreover, immunotherapy is briefly discussed in the context of epigenetics, describing both its combination with epigenetic drugs and the need for epigenetic biomarkers to predict re

SUBMITTER: Lodewijk I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7992805 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature