Th17 cytokines in non-melanoma skin cancer.

T-helper-type 17 cytokines have been implicated in epithelial cancer progression at mucosal sites. In this issue of the European Journal of Immunology, Nardinocchi et al. [Eur. J. Immunol. 2015. 45: 922-931] show that the Th17 cytokines IL-17 and IL-22 can both signal to nonmelanoma skin cancer cells, inducing both cellular proliferation and enhanced migration of human basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma cell lines in vitro. These cytokines were also shown to exacerbate tumor growth in mice injected with the squamous cell carcinoma line, CAL27. Thus, IL-17 and IL-22 may be key factors in skin cancer progression and may provide novel prognostic markers in nonmelanoma skin cancer.
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