Immune disorder in endometrial cancer: Immunosuppressive microenvironment, mechanisms of immune evasion and immunotherapy

Oncol Lett. 2020 Sep;20(3):2075-2090. doi: 10.3892/ol.2020.11774. Epub 2020 Jun 25.

Abstract

Immunotherapy is an emerging clinical approach that has gained traction over the past decade as a novel treatment option for lung cancer and melanoma. Notably, researchers have made marked improvements in the treatment of endometrial cancer (EC), and potential immune responses have been identified in patients with EC, thereby offering the possibility of exploring immunotherapy for EC. Nevertheless, various needs remain unmet, and immunotherapy applications in EC have yielded limited success, as only a minority of patients exhibited a clinical response. Therefore, further understanding of immune dysfunction associated with EC is still required. The present review describes recent findings regarding the immunosuppressive microenvironment of EC, with emphasis on immune evasion mechanisms and immunotherapy in EC.

Keywords: endometrial cancer; immune evasion mechanisms; immune response; immunosuppressive microenvironment; immunotherapy.

Publication types

  • Review