Chemotherapy-induced COX-2 upregulation by cancer cells defines their inflammatory properties and limits the efficacy of chemoimmunotherapy combinations

Abstract

COX-2-mediated prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) release from dying cancer cells contributes to cytotoxic therapy resistance. Here the authors show that cytotoxic drugs induce PGE2 release only in cancer cells with basal COX-2 activity and that pharmacological COX-2 inhibition can boost the efficacy of the combination of chemotherapy and PD-1 blockade.