Thank you for visiting nature. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer.
In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. Cancer-associated fibroblasts CAFs have emerged as a dominant non-hematopoietic cell population in the tumour microenvironment, serving diverse functions in tumour progression.
However, the mechanisms via which CAFs influence the anti-tumour immunity remain poorly understood. Cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized the field of oncology, showing remarkable efficacy in prolonging the survival of patients with rapidly growing cancers.
Immune-based treatments are currently used as first-line therapies for many cancer indications, yet, induction of durable and sustained responses remains limited in a significant portion of patients 1. A comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying the limited beneficial effects of immunotherapy is of urgent need and will facilitate the identification of predictive biomarkers for patient stratification and personalized therapy.
Resistance to cancer immunotherapy is influenced by tumour cell-intrinsic factors, such as the mutation burden, defects concerning the antigen presentation machinery, and high expression of inhibitory immune checkpoint molecules i. It is established today that the TME ecosystem is highly heterogeneous, and although the role of hematopoietic cells in tumour development and immunotherapy efficacy is extensively studied, the mechanisms governing non-hematopoietic cell function and contribution to therapy resistance are largely ignored.
