Human solid malignant tumours may be particularly resistant to conventional therapies. Among solid tumours, immunological features of cutaneous melanoma have been well characterized in the past and today melanoma patients are routinely treated with the anti‐immune checkpoints immunotherapy that has completely changed metastatic melanoma treatment and prognosis. Two cytotoxic cell populations may lead to the physical elimination of tumour cell targets: cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and natural killer (NK) cells. Tumour recognition by CTLs depends on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules, while NK cells recognize tumours expressing low or null levels of MHC class I molecules. Despite this well‐established complementarity, NK cells are still left behind in the optimization of innovative immunotherapy approaches. NK cells are members of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) that play a critical role in early host defence against invading pathogens and transformed cells. Recent findings suggest that NK cell frequencies directly correlate with the overall survival of ipilimumab‐treated melanoma patients. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo evidences indicate that NK cells can selectively kill cancer stem cells, reducing tumour size and delaying metastatic progression. The aim of this review is to provide a survey of the evidences indicating NK cells as an excellent candidate to complement the newest solid tumour immunotherapy approaches.

中文翻译：

---

黑色素瘤免疫治疗的新途径：天然杀伤细胞？

人实体恶性肿瘤可能对常规疗法特别有抵抗力。在实体瘤中，过去已经很好地表征了皮肤黑色素瘤的免疫学特征，如今，黑色素瘤患者已常规接受抗免疫检查点免疫疗法的治疗，该疗法彻底改变了转移性黑色素瘤的治疗和预后。两种细胞毒性细胞群体可能导致肿瘤细胞靶点的物理消除：细胞毒性T淋巴细胞（CTL）和自然杀伤（NK）细胞。CTL对肿瘤的识别取决于主要的组织相容性复合体（MHC）I类分子，而NK细胞则可以识别表达低水平或无效水平的MHC I类分子的肿瘤。尽管建立了良好的互补性，但NK细胞在创新免疫疗法方法的优化中仍然落后。NK细胞是先天淋巴样细胞（ILC）的成员，它们在早期宿主防御入侵病原体和转化细胞中起着关键作用。最近的发现表明，NK细胞的频率与依匹木单抗治疗的黑色素瘤患者的总生存率直接相关。此外，体外和体内证据表明，NK细胞可以选择性地杀死癌症干细胞，减小肿瘤大小并延迟转移进程。这篇综述的目的是提供对证据的调查，这些证据表明NK细胞是补充最新的实体瘤免疫疗法的优秀候选者。最近的发现表明，NK细胞的频率与依匹木单抗治疗的黑色素瘤患者的总生存率直接相关。此外，体外和体内证据表明，NK细胞可以选择性地杀死癌症干细胞，减小肿瘤大小并延迟转移进程。这篇综述的目的是提供对证据的调查，这些证据表明NK细胞是补充最新的实体瘤免疫疗法的优秀候选者。最近的发现表明，NK细胞的频率与依匹木单抗治疗的黑色素瘤患者的总生存率直接相关。此外，体外和体内证据表明，NK细胞可以选择性地杀死癌症干细胞，减小肿瘤大小并延迟转移进程。这篇综述的目的是提供对证据的调查，这些证据表明NK细胞是补充最新的实体瘤免疫疗法的优秀候选者。