cancers Review Complement in Tumourigenesis and the Response to Cancer Therapy Rebecca M. O’Brien 1,2, Aoife Cannon 1, John V. Reynolds 1, Joanne Lysaght 1,2 and Niamh Lynam-Lennon 1,* 1 Department of Surgery, Trinity St. James’s Cancer Institute, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, Trinity College Dublin and St. James’s Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland;
[email protected] (R.M.O.);
[email protected] (A.C.);
[email protected] (J.V.R.);
[email protected] (J.L.) 2 Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Group, Trinity St. James’s Cancer Institute, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, Trinity College Dublin and St. James’s Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland * Correspondence:
[email protected] Simple Summary: Increasing evidence supports a role for complement in the development of cancer and the response to cancer treatments. Dysregulated complement expression within the tumour microenvironment has been linked to the suppression of anti-tumour immunity and poor clinical outcomes. Complement signals have been demonstrated to alter the immune milieu, promote proliferation and facilitate metastasis. Targeting complement signalling in combination with current treatments may have the potential to achieve improved control of tumour growth. Abstract: In recent years, our knowledge of the complement system beyond innate immunity has progressed significantly. A modern understanding is that the complement system has a multifaceted role in malignancy, impacting carcinogenesis, the acquisition of a metastatic phenotype and response to therapies. The ability of local immune cells to produce and respond to complement components has provided valuable insights into their regulation, and the subsequent remodeling of the tumour Citation: O’Brien, R.M.; Cannon, A.; Reynolds, J.V.; Lysaght, J.; microenvironment.