title: Plasticity of tumour and immune cells: a source of heterogeneity and a cause for therapy resistance?
abstract: Immunotherapies, signal transduction inhibitors and chemotherapies can successfully achieve remissions in advanced stage cancer patients, but durable responses are rare. Using malignant melanoma as a paradigm, we propose that therapy-induced injury to tumour tissue and the resultant inflammation can activate protective and regenerative responses that represent a shared resistance mechanism to different treatments. Inflammation-driven phenotypic plasticity alters the antigenic landscape of tumour cells, rewires oncogenic signalling networks, protects against cell death and reprogrammes immune cell functions. We propose that the successful combination of cancer treatments to tackle resistance requires an interdisciplinary understanding of these resistance mechanisms, supported by mathematical models.
authors.affiliation: Unit for RNA Biology, Department of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hölzel
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bovier
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tüting
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000473:pathology; D007167:Immunotherapy; D007249:Inflammation; D008545:Melanoma / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008954:Models, Biological; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment
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