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Cancer

Metastasis risk after anti-macrophage therapy

Nature volume 515, pages 46–47 (2014)Cite this article

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Blocking the activity of macrophages may delay the spread of cancer. But new findings show that these immune cells can rapidly rebound to tumours after therapy withdrawal, accelerating lethal metastasis in mice. See Letter p.130

Macrophages are immune cells that are key players in our bodies' defence against invading pathogens. Moreover, they participate in organ development, remodelling, healing and disease1. Macrophages are also found in tumours, where they seem to support tumour progression and spread by means of several mechanisms2. This has prompted the development of drugs that impair macrophage survival3,4, block their infiltration into tumours5 or reduce their protumoral functions6. In this issue, Bonapace et al.7 (page 130) report that, in mice, although the continuous blockade of macrophages constrains tumour progression, cessation of the therapy stimulates them to rapidly rebound to the tumours, unexpectedly leading to accelerated metastatic disease.

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Figure 1: Monocyte rebounds after therapy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ioanna Keklikoglou and Michele De Palma are at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.,

    Ioanna Keklikoglou & Michele De Palma

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  1. Ioanna Keklikoglou
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  2. Michele De Palma
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Correspondence to Michele De Palma.

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Keklikoglou, I., De Palma, M. Metastasis risk after anti-macrophage therapy. Nature 515, 46–47 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13931

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