Molecular Targets for Cancer Immunotherapy: Focusing on (Immune and Tumor) Cell-Derived Metabolites

Tumor cells from different organs possess distinct metabolic requirements and develop in specific microenvironments. In this context, metabolites from the tumor microenvironment may impact the biology of tumors. Carbohydrates, lipids, and other metabolic intermediates exhibit important (and often contradictory) functions in the tumor microenvironment. Here, several metabolites are discussed according to their role in both tumor and immune cell biology and how they can promote tumor growth or regression in distinct circumstances. In this context, numerous studies have highlighted that the combination of immunotherapies, including modulators of metabolic processes, emerges as a promising therapeutic strategy for treating distinct tumors. This combination might be especially important to impair the emergence of resistant clones of tumor cells and will be discussed in this review.