Vascular normalization as an emerging strategy to enhance cancer immunotherapy

Y Huang, S Goel, DG Duda, D Fukumura, RK Jain - Cancer research, 2013 - AACR
Y Huang, S Goel, DG Duda, D Fukumura, RK Jain
Cancer research, 2013AACR
The recent approval of Provenge has brought new hope for anticancer vaccine therapies.
However, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment seems to impair the efficacy of
vaccine therapies. The abnormal tumor vasculature creates a hypoxic microenvironment that
polarizes inflammatory cells toward immune suppression. Moreover, tumors systemically
alter immune cells' proliferation, differentiation, and function via secretion of growth factors
and cytokines. For example, VEGF, a major proangiogenic cytokine induced by hypoxia …
Abstract
The recent approval of Provenge has brought new hope for anticancer vaccine therapies. However, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment seems to impair the efficacy of vaccine therapies. The abnormal tumor vasculature creates a hypoxic microenvironment that polarizes inflammatory cells toward immune suppression. Moreover, tumors systemically alter immune cells' proliferation, differentiation, and function via secretion of growth factors and cytokines. For example, VEGF, a major proangiogenic cytokine induced by hypoxia, plays a critical role in immunosuppression via these mechanisms. Hence, antiangiogenic treatment may be an effective modality to potentiate immunotherapy. Here, we discuss the local and systemic effects of VEGF on tumor immunity and propose a potentially translatable strategy to re-engineer the tumor–immune microenvironment and improve cancer immunotherapy by using lower “vascular normalizing” doses of antiangiogenic agents. Cancer Res; 73(10); 2943–8. ©2013 AACR.
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