肿瘤的免疫细胞在空间分布、组成和激活状态方面的惊人差异会影响肿瘤的发展和免疫疗法的反应。阐明调控肿瘤微环境中免疫细胞多样性和功能的机制，将为患者开发更具有针对性的免疫调节策略铺平道路。由于其旁分泌和邻近通信机制，癌细胞是免疫情况异质性的主要贡献者。本文将讨论癌细胞内在特征，包括（表）基因突变、信号通路失调和代谢改变，如何发挥调节免疫系统的功能，并影响免疫调节策略的治疗效果。此外，我们还强调靶向癌细胞内在参数或其下游免疫调节途径是操纵肿瘤免疫环境有利于抗肿瘤免疫的可行策略。 © 2023年 Springer Nature Limited。

Tumours display an astonishing variation in the spatial distribution, composition and activation state of immune cells, which impacts their progression and response to immunotherapy. Shedding light on the mechanisms that govern the diversity and function of immune cells in the tumour microenvironment will pave the way for the development of more tailored immunomodulatory strategies for the benefit of patients with cancer. Cancer cells, by virtue of their paracrine and juxtacrine communication mechanisms, are key contributors to intertumour heterogeneity in immune contextures. In this Review, we discuss how cancer cell-intrinsic features, including (epi)genetic aberrations, signalling pathway deregulation and altered metabolism, play a key role in orchestrating the composition and functional state of the immune landscape, and influence the therapeutic benefit of immunomodulatory strategies. Moreover, we highlight how targeting cancer cell-intrinsic parameters or their downstream immunoregulatory pathways is a viable strategy to manipulate the tumour immune milieu in favour of antitumour immunity.© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.