Progress in research on the use of induced pluripotent stem cells in tumor prevention, therapy, and tumor modeling
6 affiliations
- 1Life Valley (Qingdao) Health Technology Co., Ltd., Qingdao, Shandong, China
- 2Qingdao Engineering Research Center for Cellular Immunity and Early Cancer Screening, Qingdao Restore Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Qingdao, Shandong, China
- 3College of Biological Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
- 4Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
- 5School of Basic Medical Science, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, China
- 6Neurologic Disorders and Regenerative Repair Lab of Shandong Higher Education, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, China
Abstract
Induced pluripotent stem cell technology holds great promise for cancer research and immunotherapy. iPSCs possess pluripotency and unlimited self-renewal capacity, enabling their differentiation into various functional immune effector cells such as T cells, natural killer cells, and macrophages (Macs). Genetically engineered iPSC-derived immune cells have been shown to efficiently and specifically eliminate cancer cells in preclinical studies, and their safety and preliminary efficacy are currently being evaluated in early clinical trials. Although iPSC technology is a relatively recent development, it can be applied in a variety of ways to tackle biological challenges such as tumor heterogeneity, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. Recent evidence has demonstrated the potential of iPSC-based tumor vaccines, which can leverage the shared transcriptomic characteristics and tumor-associated antigens of iPSCs and cancer cells, to activate CD8+ T cells, induce immune memory formation, and inhibit tumor growth. Moreover, iPSCs can be reprogrammed into cancer stem cell-like cells (CSC-like cells) by tumor microenvironmental cues or genetic mechanism, while cancer cells can be reprogrammed to cancer-derived iPSCs. These complementary approaches provide powerful platforms for modeling tumor initiation, investigating drug resistance mechanisms, and reversing malignant phenotypes. In this review, we discuss new applications of iPSCs in cancer immunotherapy, tumor vaccine development, and CSC-based disease modeling. The review concludes by examining some of the challenges facing the clinical translation of iPSCs, including tumorigenicity risks, low reprogramming efficiency, and the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. We also recommend possible solutions to these challenges, which can help to further advance the application of iPSCs in precision oncology and personalized cancer treatment.
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BibTeX
@article{liang2026progress,
title = {{Progress in research on the use of induced pluripotent stem cells in tumor prevention, therapy, and tumor modeling}},
author = {Shaoshuai Liang and Hongyang Zhao and Ning Zuo and Bingqiang Zhang and Mengmeng Chen and Xiaoyan Zhang and Haoyun Zhang and Muhammad Omer Iqbal and Qi Wang and Dingcai Dong},
journal = {Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fcell.2026.1968508},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2026.1968508},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Progress in research on the use of induced pluripotent stem cells in tumor prevention, therapy, and tumor modeling
AU - Shaoshuai Liang
AU - Hongyang Zhao
AU - Ning Zuo
AU - Bingqiang Zhang
AU - Mengmeng Chen
AU - Xiaoyan Zhang
AU - Haoyun Zhang
AU - Muhammad Omer Iqbal
AU - Qi Wang
AU - Dingcai Dong
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
DO - 10.3389/fcell.2026.1968508
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2026.1968508
AB - Induced pluripotent stem cell technology holds great promise for cancer research and immunotherapy. iPSCs possess pluripotency and unlimited self-renewal capacity, enabling their differentiation into various functional immune effector cells such as T cells, natural killer cells, and macrophages (Macs). Genetically engineered iPSC-derived immune cells have been shown to efficiently and specifically eliminate cancer cells in preclinical studies, and their safety and preliminary efficacy are currently being evaluated in early clinical trials. Although iPSC technology is a relatively recent development, it can be applied in a variety of ways to tackle biological challenges such as tumor heterogeneity, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. Recent evidence has demonstrated the potential of iPSC-based tumor vaccines, which can leverage the shared transcriptomic characteristics and tumor-associated antigens of iPSCs and cancer cells, to activate CD8+ T cells, induce immune memory formation, and inhibit tumor growth. Moreover, iPSCs can be reprogrammed into cancer stem cell-like cells (CSC-like cells) by tumor microenvironmental cues or genetic mechanism, while cancer cells can be reprogrammed to cancer-derived iPSCs. These complementary approaches provide powerful platforms for modeling tumor initiation, investigating drug resistance mechanisms, and reversing malignant phenotypes. In this review, we discuss new applications of iPSCs in cancer immunotherapy, tumor vaccine development, and CSC-based disease modeling. The review concludes by examining some of the challenges facing the clinical translation of iPSCs, including tumorigenicity risks, low reprogramming efficiency, and the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. We also recommend possible solutions to these challenges, which can help to further advance the application of iPSCs in precision oncology and personalized cancer treatment.
SN - 2296-634X
ER -