In tumour immunology, complement has traditionally been considered as an adjunctive component that enhances the cytolytic effects of antibody-based immunotherapies, such as rituximab. Remarkably, research in the past decade has uncovered novel molecular mechanisms linking imbalanced complement activation in the tumour microenvironment with inflammation and suppression of antitumour immune responses. These findings have prompted new interest in manipulating the complement system for cancer therapy. This Review summarizes our current understanding of complement-mediated effector functions in the tumour microenvironment, focusing on how complement activation can act as a negative or positive regulator of tumorigenesis. It also offers insight into clinical aspects, including the feasibility of using complement biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and the use of complement inhibitors during cancer treatment.

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癌症中的补体：错综复杂的关系

在肿瘤免疫学中，补体传统上被视为辅助成分，可增强基于抗体的免疫疗法（如利妥昔单抗）的溶细胞作用。值得注意的是，过去十年的研究发现了新的分子机制，将肿瘤微环境中补体激活不平衡与炎症和抗肿瘤免疫反应的抑制联系在一起。这些发现促使人们对操纵补体系统进行癌症治疗产生了新的兴趣。这篇综述总结了我们对肿瘤微环境中补体介导的效应子功能的当前理解，重点是补体激活如何充当肿瘤发生的负调节剂或正调节剂。它还提供了对临床方面的洞察力，