title: Cytotoxic chemotherapy and CD4+ effector T cells: an emerging alliance for durable antitumor effects.
abstract: Standard cytotoxic chemotherapy can initially achieve high response rates, but relapses often occur in patients and represent a severe clinical problem. As increasing numbers of chemotherapeutic agents are found to have immunostimulatory effects, there is a growing interest to combine chemotherapy and immunotherapy for synergistic antitumor effects and improved clinical benefits. Findings from recent studies suggest that highly activated, polyfunctional CD4+ effector T cells have tremendous potential in strengthening and sustaining the overall host antitumor immunity in the postchemotherapy window. This review focuses on the latest progresses regarding the impact of chemotherapy on CD4+ T-cell phenotype and function and discusses the prospect of exploiting CD4+ T cells to control tumor progression and prevent relapse after chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Immunotherapy Program, Cancer Center, Georgia Health Sciences University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA.
authors.forename: Zhi-Chun
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D056747:Immunomodulation / Q000187:drug effects; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D055502:Secondary Prevention
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents