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Role of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in cancer

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Abstract

Over the past decade, immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy has demonstrated improved therapeutic efficacy in a wide range of cancers. However, the benefits are restricted to a small population of patients. Therefore, studies on understanding the mechanisms resistant to ICI therapy and for finding predictive biomarkers for ICI therapy are being actively conducted. Recent studies have demonstrated that myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) inhibit ICI therapy by various mechanisms, and that the response to ICI therapy can be improved by blocking MDSC activity. Moreover, low level of MDSC in patients with cancer has been shown to be correlated with their good prognosis after ICI treatment, thereby suggesting MDSC as a predictive biomarker in this regard. This review focuses on the roles of MDSC in ICI therapy and their relevant applications.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Republic of Korea (2015R1C1A1A01054596, 2018R1D1A1A02085326).

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  1. Yonsei Cancer Center, Division of Medical Oncology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Su-Myeong Park

  2. Research Institute, ProGen Inc, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, 13488, Republic of Korea

    Je-In Youn

  3. Department of Biochemistry, College of Life Science & Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Je-In Youn

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Correspondence to Je-In Youn.

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JY is a full-time ProGen employee. There is no any other conflict of interest.

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Park, SM., Youn, JI. Role of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in cancer. Arch. Pharm. Res. 42, 560–566 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12272-019-01165-6

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