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Opposing roles of eosinophils in cancer

  • Focussed Research Review
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Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Eosinophils are a subset of granulocytes mostly known for their ability to combat parasites and induce allergy. Although they were described to be related to cancer more than 100 years ago, their role in tumors is still undefined. Recent observations revealed that they display regulatory functions towards other immune cell subsets in the tumor microenvironment or direct cytotoxic functions against tumor cells, leading to either antitumor or protumor effects. This paradoxical role of eosinophils was suggested to be dependent on the different factors in the TME. In addition, the clinical relevance of these cells has been recently addressed. In most cases, the accumulation of eosinophils both in the tumor tissue, called tumor-associated tissue eosinophilia, and in the peripheral blood were reported to be prognostic markers for a better outcome of cancer patients. In immunotherapy of cancer, particularly in therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors, eosinophils were even shown to be a potential predictive marker for a beneficial clinical response. A better understanding of their role in cancer progression will help to establish them as prognostic and predictive markers and to design strategies for targeting eosinophils.

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Abbreviations

AEC:

Absolute eosinophil count

CCL:

CC-chemokine ligand

CCR:

CC-chemokine receptor

CRC:

Colorectal cancer

CXCL:

C-X-C-chemokine ligand

DAMPs:

Damage-associated molecular patterns

DFS:

Disease-free survival

DPP4:

Dipeptidylpeptidase 4

ECP:

Eosinophil cationic protein

EDN:

Eosinophil-derived neurotoxin

GI:

Gastrointestinal

HMGB1:

High-mobility group box 1 protein

HPF:

High power fields

ICI:

Immune checkpoint inhibitor

MBP:

Major basic protein

MM:

Malignant melanoma

OSCC:

Oral squamous cell carcinoma

PAMP:

Pathogen-associated molecular patterns

PFS:

Progression free survival

REC:

Relative eosinophil count

Siglec:

Sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin

TATE:

Tumor-associated tissue eosinophilia

Th2:

Type 2 Th cells

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Elisabeth Cordell for editing the manuscript, Xiaoying Hu for designing figure elements, Rebekka Weber and Zeno Riester for helpful advice. The literature search was assisted by Maurizio Grilli from the library for the Medical Faculty of Mannheim, Ruprecht-Karl University of Heidelberg.

Funding

This work was supported by grants from the German Research Council (RTG2099) to J. Utikal and V. Umansky and the Cooperation between German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Ministry of Science, Technology and Space of Israel (MOST) in Cancer Research (CA181 to V. Umansky). This work was kindly backed by the COST Action BM1404 Mye-EUNITER (http://www.mye-euniter.eu). COST is supported by the EU Framework Program Horizon 2020.

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  1. Skin Cancer Unit, Clinical Cooperation Unit Dermato-Oncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Sonja C. S. Simon, Jochen Utikal & Viktor Umansky

  2. Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, University Medical Center Mannheim, Ruprecht-Karl University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany

    Sonja C. S. Simon, Jochen Utikal & Viktor Umansky

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  1. Sonja C. S. Simon
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  2. Jochen Utikal
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  3. Viktor Umansky
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SCSS: writing, review and revision of the manuscript, preparation and revision of the figure and table. JU: review and revision of the manuscript. VU: writing, review and revision of the manuscript and revision of the table and figure.

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Correspondence to Viktor Umansky.

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Simon, S.C.S., Utikal, J. & Umansky, V. Opposing roles of eosinophils in cancer. Cancer Immunol Immunother 68, 823–833 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00262-018-2255-4

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