Dismantling the tumoral cloak of self-protection

by Mara B. Willis, Katherine Y. King

Tumors protect themselves from immune clearance by promoting extramedullary hematopoiesis. A new study in PLOS Biology provides insights into the mechanisms underlying this process, which may hold the key to disrupting generation of the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. The mechanisms by which tumors promote hematopoiesis outside the bone marrow have been the subject of intense interest. This Primer explores a new PLOS Biology study that provides new insight into the mechanisms underlying this process, and may hold the key to disrupting generation of the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.