Mechanisms of Cryoablation in Regulating the Cancer–Immune Cycle and Strategies for Immuno–Combination Therapy
WU Han, LI Yiqin, SHEN Yangkun*
In recent years, CRA (cryoablation), a minimally invasive tumor therapy, has extended its mechanism from mere local physical destruction to synergistically regulating the cancer-immune cycle. Studies show CRA induces diverse tumor cell death, releasing native tumor-specific antigens and inflammatory cytokines, activating DC (dendritic cell) antigen presentation, and enhancing the anti-tumor activities of CD8+T cells and NK (natural killer cells). However, CRA alone elicits a weak, short-lived systemic immune response, poorly inhibiting distant tumor metastases. This review systematically analyzes CRA’s multidimensional regulation of the cancer-immune cycle, including antigen release/presentation, T cell activation, cytokine release, and AE (abscopal effect). Based on this, it proposes optimized combination strategies, offering theoretical basis and translational pathways for precise CRA application in tumor immunotherapy.