Cytokine and Chemokine Signals of T-Cell Exclusion in Tumors

The success of cancer immunotherapy in solid tumors depends on a sufficient distribution of effector T cells into malignant lesions. However, immune-cold tumors utilize many T-cell exclusion mechanisms to resist immunotherapy. T cells have to go through three steps to fight against tumors: trafficking to tumor core, surviving and expanding, and maintaining the memory phenotype for long-lasting responses. Cytokines and chemokines play critical roles in modulating the T cell recruitment and the cell compositions of the tumor microenvironment. Manipulating the cytokine or chemokine environment has brought success in preclinical models and early-stage clinical trials. However, depending on the immune context, the same cytokine or chemokine signals may exhibit either antitumor or protumor activities, and induce unwanted side effects. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the cytokine and chemokine signals is the premise of overcoming T-cell exclusion for effective and innovative anti-cancer therapies.