title: Immunosenescence and cancer.
abstract: The immune system, interacting intimately with the cancer cells in a tumor, may combat or favor cancer development and progression, or both. One of the most important risk factors for solid cancers is age. With increasing age, numerous alterations at multiple levels including molecular, cellular, organ, and systemic are occurring. With age many physiological systems are changing, including the immune system. Several alterations occur in both arms of the immune system with aging. Although the innate immune system shows changes with aging, the most important alterations occur in the adaptive immune system, especially involving T cells. Many changes in the immune system may decrease its capacity to combat the emerging or progressing tumor. Further, the age-related immune changes may favor the cancer development. The most important changes which may decrease the immune response efficiency are the changes in T cell functions and phenotypes, concomitant with the presence of a low-grade inflammation. A consensus is now emerging in oncology that not only the cancer cells themselves should be studied but also their macro- and microenvironments. In this context, the study of the interrelation of the immune response and the tumor at various stages is essential to enhance our capacity for intervention in elderly cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Research Center on Aging, Department of Medicine, Geriatrics Division, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Tamas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fulop
authors.affiliation: Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), Biopolis, Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.
authors.forename: Anis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Larbi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Medical University of Gdansk, Debinki 7, 80-211 Gdansk, Poland.
authors.forename: Jacek M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Witkowski
authors.affiliation: BC Cancer Agency (Vancouver Island) and University of British Columbia, 2410 Lee Ave, V8R 6V5 Victoria, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Rami
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kotb
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health and Life Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Open Laboratory, Medical Research Institute Surugadai Bldg, 2-3-10, Surugadai, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0062, Department of Comprehensive Pathology, Tokyo Medical and Dental.
authors.forename: Katsuiku
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirokawa
authors.affiliation: Tubingen Aging and Tumour Immunology Group (TATI), Section for Transplantation Immunology, Medizinische, Center for Medical Research, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pawelec
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007249:Inflammation / Q000150:complications; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D051193:Toll-Like Receptors