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Annual Review of Cancer Biology

Volume 9, 2025

The Role of B Cells in Solid Tumors

  • Harrison Silva1,2,*, Delaney Sherwin2,* and Yuliya Pylayeva-Gupta2,3
  • 1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA 2Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; email: [email protected] 3Department of Genetics, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
    * These authors contributed equally to this article
  • Vol. 9:181-203 (Volume publication date April 2025)
  • First published as a Review in Advance on November 12, 2024
  • Copyright © 2025 by the author(s).
    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See credit lines of images or other third-party material in this article for license information.

Abstract

A surge of recent studies have identified B cells as pivotal contributors to shaping the tumor microenvironment (TME) within solid tumors. B cells can both directly and indirectly antagonize tumor growth via antibody production, antigen presentation, and cytokine secretion, potentially through the formation of tertiary lymphoid structures. However, certain B cell states have demonstrated the ability to promote tumor growth via immunoregulatory mechanisms such as the production of immunosuppressive cytokines and the expression of immune checkpoints, both of which dampen T cell–dependent antitumor responses. Here, we discuss the dichotomy of B cell function in solid tumors, underscoring both the pro- and antitumor roles that B cells play in the TME. Furthermore, we summarize ongoing efforts to reprogram protumorigenic B cells and/or to promote the activity and abundance of effector B cells as potential immunotherapy approaches in solid tumors.

Keyword(s): B cells, cancer, immunotherapy
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2025-04-11
2025-06-24
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/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-cancerbio-060624-045703
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The Role of B Cells in Solid Tumors
Annual Review of Cancer Biology 9, 181 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-cancerbio-060624-045703
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-cancerbio-060624-045703
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-cancerbio-060624-045703
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