Table 2.

Overview of pleiotropic function of Th17 cells in different tumours

Type of cancer	Outcomes	Th17‐derived cytokine profiles	Effect of Th17 cells on tumour	References
Ovarian	Protective	IL−17, IFN‐γ, GM‐CSF, IL−2	Increased intratumoral Th17 cell numbers were associated with improved survival rates.	138, 154, 155
Colorectal	Protective	TNF‐α, IL−21, IL−22, GM‐CSF, IFN‐γ and IL−8	Positive contribution of tumour‐infiltrating Th17 cells in mediating tumour immunity through the recruitment of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells.	132, 140, 156, 157
Gastric	Adverse	IL−17, IL−21	Th17 was shown to promote tumour growth via secretion through upregulation of VEGF prostaglandins.	158, 159, 160
Non‐Hodgkin lymphoma	Protective	IL−17, IFN‐γ (?)	Lymphoma limits Th17 generation and maintenance to mediate tolerance.	146, 161
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL)	N/A	IL−17, IL−1, GITR	Compared with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) + HL patients, EBV‐ HL patients upregulated IL−23 that displayed a pro‐inflammatory Th17 phenotype.	162
Multiple myeloma	Adverse	IL−17, IFN‐γ	Higher numbers of Th17 cells were associated with tumour growth and impeded host tumour immunity	144, 163
Acute myeloid leukaemia	Adverse	IL−17, IL−10	Increased frequencies of Th17 cells were associated with poor prognosis. Th17 promotes tumour growth via secretion of IL−17, while Th7‐producing IL−10 suppresses immune activity.	143, 164

N/A, not applicable; IL‐17, interleukin‐17; IFN‐γ, interferon γ; GM‐CSF, granulocyte–macrophage colony‐stimulating factor; IL‐2, interleukin‐2; IL‐22, interleukin‐22; IL‐23, interleukin‐23; TNF‐α, tumour necrosis factor‐α; IL‐10, interleukin‐10.