Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide with nearly 2 million cases per year. Immune cells and inflammation are a critical component of colorectal cancer progression, and they are used as reliable prognostic indicators of patient outcome. With the growing appreciation for immunology in colorectal cancer, interest is growing on the role γδ T cells have to play, as they represent one of the most prominent immune cell populations in gut tissue. This group of cells consists of both resident populations—γδ intraepithelial lymphocytes (γδ IELs)—and transient populations that each has unique functions. The homeostatic role of these γδ T cell subsets is to maintain barrier integrity and prevent microorganisms from breaching the mucosal layer, which is accomplished through crosstalk with enterocytes and other immune cells. Recent years have seen a surge in discoveries regarding the regulation of γδ IELs in the intestine and the colon with particular new insights into the butyrophilin family. In this review, we discuss the development, specialities, and functions of γδ T cell subsets during cancer progression. We discuss how these cells may be used to predict patient outcome, as well as how to exploit their behavior for cancer immunotherapy.

中文翻译：

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肠道 γδ T 细胞是癌症的守护者、破坏者和煽动者。

结直肠癌是全球第三大常见癌症，每年有近 200 万例病例。免疫细胞和炎症是结直肠癌进展的关键组成部分，它们被用作患者结果的可靠预后指标。随着人们对结直肠癌免疫学的日益重视，人们对 γδ T 细胞所发挥的作用越来越感兴趣，因为它们代表了肠道组织中最重要的免疫细胞群之一。这组细胞由常驻群体——γδ上皮内淋巴细胞（γδ IEL）——和短暂群体组成，每个群体都有独特的功能。这些 γδ T 细胞亚群的稳态作用是维持屏障完整性并防止微生物突破粘膜层，这是通过与肠上皮细胞和其他免疫细胞的串扰来实现的。近年来，有关肠道和结肠中 γδ IEL 调节的发现激增，特别是对嗜丁蛋白家族的新见解。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了癌症进展过程中 γδ T 细胞亚群的发展、特性和功能。我们讨论如何使用这些细胞来预测患者的结果，以及如何利用它们的行为进行癌症免疫治疗。