TH17 cells in tumour immunity and immunotherapy

A lot of recent research has focused on T helper 17 (TH17) cells, but their function in the tumour microenvironment has remained controversial. This Review examines the roles of TH17 cells in tumour immunity and discusses the potential of targeting this subset for cancer therapy. T helper 17 (TH17) cells have well-described roles in autoimmune disease. Recent evidence suggests that this effector T cell subset is also involved in tumour immunology and may be a target for cancer therapy. In this Review, we summarize recent findings regarding the nature and relevance of TH17 cells in mouse models of cancer and human disease. We describe the interplay between TH17 cells and other immune cells in the tumour microenvironment, and we assess both the potential antitumorigenic and pro-tumorigenic activities of TH17 cells and their associated cytokines. Understanding the nature of TH17 cell responses in the tumour microenvironment will be important for the design of more efficacious cancer immunotherapies.