REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
This article is part of the Research TopicCommunity Series in Novel Biomarkers in Tumor Immunity and Immunotherapy: Volume IIIView all 4 articles
Unraveling the Dual Roles of Tumor-Infiltrating Antibodies in Solid Tumors: Friend or Foe in the Tumor Microenvironment?
Provisionally accepted
- 1West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- 2Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China
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Within the tumor microenvironment (TME) of solid malignancies, tumor-infiltrating antibodies, have been identified as significant modulators of tumor progression and immune response. Tumor-infiltrating antibodies predominantly secreted by plasma cells but also including a small proportion of cancer-derived antibodies. This review aims to elucidate the multifaceted roles of tumor-infiltrating antibodies in the immunology of solid tumors, focusing on their dualistic nature within the TME. This review outlines the mechanisms of B cell activation, antibody class switching, plasma cell differentiation and antibody production, with a focus on their contributions to tumor immunity in solid cancers. Additionally, we discuss the emerging potential of tumor-infiltrating antibodies as both therapeutic targets and diagnostic biomarkers, offering insights that may inform future strategies in cancer treatment. Collectively, antibody functions are shaped by their isotypes: IgG is often associated with improved prognosis in various solid tumors. IgG1 and IgG3 generally mediate anti-tumor responses via antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP), while IgG4 may impair immune effector functions and associate with immune tolerance. IgM, as an early humoral responder, enhances tumor surveillance through complement dependent cytoxicity (CDC), phagocytosis, and apoptosis induction. IgA predominantly promotes tumor progression through immune suppression. IgE exhibits context-dependent pro-and anti-tumor activities, though current evidence is limited, whereas the function of IgD remains largely unknown. Additionally, tumor-derived IgG promotes tumor growth, metastasis, and immune evasion. These findings may open new avenues of research
Keywords: Tumor-infiltrating antibodies, Tumor microenvironment (TME), B cells, Plasma Cells, solid tumors
Received: 23 Jul 2025; Accepted: 31 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Song, Miao, Zhou, Zhang and Feng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Pan Song, syhlzu@163.com
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