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Review
. 2017 May;9(6):487-497.
doi: 10.2217/imt-2017-0013.

Leveraging natural killer cells for cancer immunotherapy

Steven K Grossenbacher  1 , Ethan G Aguilar  1 , William J Murphy  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Leveraging natural killer cells for cancer immunotherapy

Steven K Grossenbacher et al. Immunotherapy. 2017 May.

Abstract

Natural killer (NK) cells are potent antitumor effector cells of the innate immune system. Based on their ability to eradicate tumors in vitro and in animal models, significant enthusiasm surrounds the prospect of leveraging human NK cells as vehicles for cancer immunotherapy. While interest in manipulating the effector functions of NK cells has existed for over 30 years, there is renewed optimism for this approach today. Although T cells receive much of the clinical and preclinical attention when it comes to cancer immunotherapy, new strategies are utilizing adoptive NK-cell immunotherapy and monoclonal antibodies and engineered molecules which have been developed to specifically activate NK cells against tumors. Despite the numerous challenges associated with the preclinical and clinical development of NK cell-based therapies for cancer, NK cells possess many unique immunological properties and hold the potential to provide an effective means for cancer immunotherapy.

Keywords: CAR; bortezomib; cancer stem cell; cetuximab; cytokines; immunotherapy; lenalidomide; natural killer cell; radiotherapy; rituximab; trastuzumab.

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Conflict of interest statement

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported by the NIH/National Cancer Institute award R01 CA189209. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Figures

<b>Figure 1.</b>
Figure 1.. Schematic of natural killer-cell targeting of cancer stem cells following radio/chemotherapy.
Populations of cancer stem cells can withstand conventional radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. In the absence of a cancer stem cell targeting approach, the residual cancer stem cells can seed relapse of the primary tumor. NK cells are capable of killing cancer stem cells and reducing the onset of relapse. NK: Natural killer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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