Role of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in tumor immunology

Abstract

Various immune cells are involved in both innate and acquired immunity against tumors. NK cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes play a role as effector cells to directly kill tumor cells. On the other hand, antigen-presenting cells, particularly dendritic cells, control tumor-specific immune responses. In addition, much focus has been paid on the immune regulatory cells in tumor sites, including CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells. The recent advances in molecular-targeted therapy for cancer have provided small-molecule kinase inhibitors, which are effective for several hematopoietic malignancies as well as solid tumors in the clinical setting. Most drugs generally have inhibitory effects on several kinases, including tyrosine kinases, which are critical molecules for the survival, proliferation, migration and invasion of tumor cells. Since the host immune surveillance against tumors affects tumor progression, it is of interest to understand how these molecular-targeted drugs affect immune function in the tumor-bearing host. Besides this, there are emerging findings that myeloid cells could be involved in tumor angiogenesis. In this article, we address the role of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in tumor immunology by summarizing their effects on myeloid cells, such as antigen-presenting cells and regulatory cells, and their role in tumor immunity and angiogenesis.