Tumor-derived TGF-β and prostaglandin E2 attenuate anti-tumor immune responses in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with EGFR inhibitor

摘要

BackgroundEGFR-targeted therapy is an attractive option for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients. We have recently reported the use of EGFR inhibitors as an adjunct treatment to enhance HLA-DR expression in tumor cells to improve cancer immunotherapy. Nevertheless, we observed that EGFR inhibitors resulted in decreased anti-tumor responses, regardless of upregulation of HLA-DR expression on the tumor cell. In this study, we specifically investigated the mechanisms by which EGFR inhibition modulated anti-tumor responses.