RNA and RNA derivatives: light and dark sides in cancer immunotherapy

Immunotherapy, which utilizes the patient's immune system to fight tumor cells, has been approved for the treatment of some types of advanced cancer.The complexity and diversity of tumor immunity are responsible for the varying response rates toward current immunotherapy strategies and highlight the importance of exploring regulators in tumor immunotherapy. Several genetic factors have proved to be critical regulators of tumor immunotherapy. RNAs, including messenger RNAs and non-coding RNAs, play vital and diverse roles in tumorigenesis, metastasis, drug resistance, and immunotherapy response. RNA modifications, including N6-methyladenosine methylation, are involved in tumor immunity.A critical issue is the lack of summary of the regulatory RNA molecules and their derivatives in mediating immune activities in human cancers that could provide potential applications for tumor immunotherapeutic strategy.This review summarizes the dual roles (the light and dark sides) of RNA and its derivatives in tumor immunotherapy and discusses the development of RNA-based therapies as novel immunotherapeutic strategies for cancer treatment.