Tumor cells drive heterogeneous activation of cancer-associated fibroblasts within the tumor microenvironment.
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Fibroblast subpopulations within the TME can promote or suppress tumor immune response with major implications for cancer immunotherapy.
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Current efforts target fibroblast-specific pathways and individual fibroblast subpopulations to improve cancer immunotherapy response.
Immune-targeted approaches are rapidly changing the therapeutic landscape for cancer. In spite of that, most patients show resistance or acquire resistance to these therapies. Increasing work describing the tumor microenvironment (TME) has highlighted this space as one of the key determinants in tumor immune response and immunotherapeutic success. Frequently overlooked within this space, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) within the TME have surfaced as an important dictator of the tumor immune response. Herein, we review recent advances in defining the role of CAF-immune cell interactions in solid tumors and prospects for targeting stroma to overcome resistance to immunotherapy.
