The dark side of Toll-like receptor signaling.

Radiation therapy is potentially immunogenic yet it rarely generates long-term antitumor effects. We have recently demonstrated that Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) jump-starts the signal transduction and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)-dependent vascularization and regrowth of tumors that recur upon irradiation. We propose that the targeted inhibition of the TLR9/STAT3 signaling axis in myeloid cells can support the efficacy of local radiotherapy and prevent cancer recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]