NK cells and cancer: you can teach innate cells new tricks

This Review discusses the role of natural killer (NK) cells in immunosurveillance of tumour cells, highlighting the new therapeutic approaches to NK cell targeting in the treatment of cancer and improvement of NK cell-mediated antitumour immune responses. Natural killer (NK) cells are the prototype innate lymphoid cells endowed with potent cytolytic function that provide host defence against microbial infection and tumours. Here, we review evidence for the role of NK cells in immune surveillance against cancer and highlight new therapeutic approaches for targeting NK cells in the treatment of cancer.