Roles of cytotoxic and helper innate lymphoid cells in cancer

Natural killer (NK) cells have long been recognized for their anti-cancer activity and are now included in the large family of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). The discovery of new ILC subsets that, similarly to NK cells, are able to kill tumor cells encourages us to redefine NK cell role in anti-tumor immunity. Conventional NK cells circulate through the blood and screen the body for “stressed” cells. Therefore, NK cells are believed to play a key role in cancer immunosurveillance by the early elimination of cells undergoing malignant transformation. Tissue-resident ILCs might play a similar role since they are ideally located to detect the early signs of malignant transformation in their organ of residence. We are only beginning to appreciate the importance of the whole ILC family in cancer. Confusingly, these cells have been reported to both inhibit and fuel cancer progression and the factors regulating these dual functions remain unclear. Here, I review the recent advances in our understanding of cytotoxic and cytokine-producing helper ILC subsets in cancer.