The impact of the extracellular matrix on immunotherapy success

MANGLIO MIGUEL RIZZO; MARIEL FUSCO; MARIANA MALVICINI

The Extracellular Matrix and the Tumor Microenvironment

Springer Nature

Año: 2022; p. 437 - 455

Biological therapies to promote and enhance the immune response against cancer have gained much relevance in the past recent decade. Since the first approval of immune checkpoints inhibitor immunotherapies by the American Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), the outcomes obtained in patients with a variety of solid tumors have stimulated a revolution regarding this type of target therapy. Therefore, therapeutic options and developments aimed at enhancing the immune response in patients are currently increasing. The evasion mechanisms mediated both by tumors and by the tumor microenvironment (TME), however, remain important barriers to acquiring a satisfactory antitumor response. The dynamic extracellular matrix (ECM) as a part of the TME plays a key role in this scenario. In this chapter, we addressed how the interplay between cancer cells and the TME components, including soluble factors, endothelial cells, tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), T cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts, and a perturbed ECM, could contribute to cancer progression. Importantly, how the TME remodeling, especially ECM changes, are implicated in the success of cancer immunotherapy.