The Underappreciated Role of the Humoral Immune System and B Cells in Tumorigenesis and Cancer Therapeutics: A Review

The advent of immunotherapy has ushered in a new era in both cancer research and cancer treatment strategies. Published reviews have described potential mechanisms for therapeutic synergisms from the combination of radiation therapy and immunotherapy, largely overlooking the role of humoral immunity by only focusing on cellular immunity. Given that these 2 branches of the immune system are highly interdependent, in this review we detail both what has already been established regarding the role of humoral immunity in cancer and propose potential avenues that are ripe for further investigation and potential clinical applications. The advent of immunotherapy has ushered in a new era in both cancer research and cancer treatment strategies. Published reviews have described potential mechanisms for therapeutic synergisms from the combination of radiation therapy and immunotherapy, largely overlooking the role of humoral immunity by only focusing on cellular immunity. Given that these 2 branches of the immune system are highly interdependent, in this review we detail both what has already been established regarding the role of humoral immunity in cancer and propose potential avenues that are ripe for further investigation and potential clinical applications.