Fig. 2. Cold and hot tumours.

General aspects of innate and adaptive immunity for ICT outcome. a Inflamed tumours: cancer cells often lack strategic mechanisms inducing immunosuppression that leads to T-cell desertification and exclusion, and consequently, these tumours respond well to ICT. b Desert tumours: cancer cells have poor mutational levels. In addition, they can trigger immunosuppressive mechanisms that impair the efficient priming of T cells by tumour cells and APCs. These tumours are universally refractory to ICT. c T-cell-excluded tumours: cancer cells do not efficiently suppress antigen processing and presentation, and these tumours can elicit immunogenic responses. However, cancer cells can influence local TAMs and CAFs to block the infiltration of anti-tumour T cells. This resistance mechanism to ICT can be innate in refractory tumours or acquired in relapsed tumours.