Advance in the study of CD4~+CD25~+FOXP3~+ regulatory T cell in tumor immune evasion / 中国癌症杂志

ABSTRACT

As a distinct T cell subset with acknowledged specific function and marker, CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ regulatory T cells are thought to dampen T-cell immunity and to be the main obstacle tempering antitumor immunotherapy. Accumulating evidence has confirmed an increased pool of regulatory T cells both in the peripheral blood and the tumor microenvironment of cancer patients, which are indicative of disease progression, response to therapy, invasive phenotype and prognosis. Therefore, manipulation of regulatory T cells—including depletion, blocking trafficking into tumors, or reducing their differentiation and suppressive mechanisms—and concomitant stimulation of effector T cells, systemically or locally in tumors, represent new strategies for cancer treatment.