Ma SX, Li L, Cai H, Guo TK, Zhang LS. Therapeutic challenge for immunotherapy targeting cold colorectal cancer: A narrative review. World J Clin Oncol 2023; 14(2): 81-88 [PMID: 36908678 DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v14.i2.81]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Lei-Sheng Zhang, PhD, Professor, Department of General Surgery, Gansu Provincial Hospital, No. 204 West Donggang RD, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China. leisheng_zhang@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Oncol. Feb 24, 2023; 14(2): 81-88 Published online Feb 24, 2023. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v14.i2.81
Therapeutic challenge for immunotherapy targeting cold colorectal cancer: A narrative review
Shi-Xun Ma, Li Li, Hui Cai, Tian-Kang Guo, Lei-Sheng Zhang
Shi-Xun Ma, Hui Cai, Tian-Kang Guo, Lei-Sheng Zhang, Department of General Surgery, Gansu Provincial Hospital, Lanzhou 73000, Gansu Province, China
Li Li, Scientific Research Division, Gansu Provincial Hospital, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China
Lei-Sheng Zhang, Key Laboratory of Radiation Technology and Biophysics, Hefei Institute of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, Anhui Province, China
Author contributions: Ma SX, and Li L wrote the paper; Zhang LS, Cai H, and Guo TK performed the data collection; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Lei-Sheng Zhang, PhD, Professor, Department of General Surgery, Gansu Provincial Hospital, No. 204 West Donggang RD, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China. leisheng_zhang@163.com
Received: September 20, 2022 Peer-review started: September 20, 2022 First decision: November 28, 2022 Revised: December 13, 2022 Accepted: February 7, 2023 Article in press: February 7, 2023 Published online: February 24, 2023 Processing time: 153 Days and 18.2 Hours
Abstract
Cold colorectal tumors are not likely to trigger a robust immune response and tend to suppress the immune response. There may be three reasons. First, the complex tumor microenvironment of cold colorectal cancer (CRC) leads to tolerance and clearance of immunotherapy. Second, the modification and concealment of tumor-specific targets in cold CRC cause immune escape and immune response interruption. Finally, the difference in number and function of immune cell subsets in patients with cold CRC makes them respond poorly to immunotherapy. Therefore, we can only overcome the challenges in immunotherapy of cold CRC through in-depth research and understanding the changes and mechanisms in the above three aspects of cold CRC.
Core Tip: Advanced colorectal tumors are poorly treated, and immunotherapy has improved these patients’ outcomes. However, cold colorectal tumors are less likely to trigger a robust immune response and tend to suppress it. To address this phenomenon, we discuss the role of the tumor microenvironment, immune targets, and immune cells in the treatment of cold colorectal tumors.
