Role of Tregs in Cancer Dormancy or Recurrence

ABSTRACT

The immunogenic tumor dormancy has been demonstrated in animal models of cancer, which can explain clinical observations such as an increased incidence of cancer following organ transplantation. The role of immune cell populations in the maintenance of, or escape from, tumor dormancy and subsequent recurrence is poorly understood. Here, we provide a review of literature related to the contribution of Tregs in tumor dormancy or recurrence. Based on clinical results, we suggest that anecdotal reports on the association of human Tregs with poor prognosis are circumstantial rather than implying a cause–effect direction. This could be due to a disparity among patients in harboring multiple factors associated with tumor immunoediting and immune evasion mechanisms.

KEYWORDS:

• Regulatory T cells
• tumor dormancy
• tumor immunoediting

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (USA) through the Breast Cancer Research Program under award number W81XWH-14-1-0087. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Conflicts of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.