Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Highlight
  • Published:

LIVER CANCER

Liver metastases siphon T cells and blunt immunotherapy responses

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 18, page 150 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

The liver is a common site for metastasis and it can also promote systemic immune tolerance through mechanisms involving ineffective T cell responses. A study published in Nature Medicine now shows that liver metastases can co-opt liver immune tolerance mechanisms to cause immunotherapy resistance.

“Many years ago, I cared for a patient with non-small cell lung cancer which had metastasized to the liver. They progressed within weeks of starting immunotherapy,” says co-corresponding author Michael Green. “I felt we should learn from exceptional failures, and I began to wonder if the location of cancer impacted immunotherapy efficacy.” Owing to the role of the liver in promoting immune tolerance, Green and colleagues investigated liver metastases in the context of immunotherapy resistance.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

Original article

  • Yu, J. et al. Liver metastasis restrains immunotherapy efficacy via macrophage-mediated T cell elimination. Nat. Med. 27, 152–164 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology http://www.nature.com/nrgastro/

    Iain Dickson

Authors
  1. Iain Dickson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Iain Dickson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dickson, I. Liver metastases siphon T cells and blunt immunotherapy responses. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 18, 150 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-021-00421-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-021-00421-9

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Cancer

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Cancer newsletter — what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Cancer