The emerging role of dendritic cells in the tumor microenvironment: from antigen presentation to targeted immunotherapy

Dendritic cells (DCs), as pivotal antigen-presenting cells (APCs), play crucial roles in initiating T cell-mediated antitumor immune responses, bridging innate and adaptive immunity while maintaining immune tolerance. With an in-depth understanding of DC biology and functions, numerous DC-targeted therapeutic approaches have been developed. An enhanced understanding of DC heterogeneity and DC cross-talk with other cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME), along with functional and metabolic remodeling mechanisms, may optimize DC-based cancer immunotherapies. This review focuses on the heterogeneity of the individual occurrence and function of DCs in tumors, elucidates the cross-talk between DCs and other cells in the TME, provides an in-depth understanding of the dysfunction and metabolic reprogramming of DCs in the TME, and summarizes existing DC-based anticancer therapies and novel therapeutic strategies, with the aim of providing new insight into the emerging role of DCs in future cancer immunotherapy.