持续的研究揭示了癌症干细胞（CSCs）的存在是当前癌症治疗中最大的障碍之一。由于其典型的干性特征，CSCs在肿瘤进展、复发和化疗抵抗方面发挥了重要作用。CSCs优先分布于生态位中，而这些生态位展现了肿瘤微环境（TME）的典型特征。CSCs和TME之间的复杂互动说明了它们之间的协同效应。CSCs内部的表型异质性和与周围肿瘤微环境的空间交互作用导致了治疗挑战的增加。CSCs与免疫细胞相互作用，利用多种免疫检查点分子的免疫抑制功能来保护自己免受免疫清除。CSCs还可以通过将细胞外囊泡（EVs）、生长因子、代谢物和细胞因子排出到TME中来保护自己免受免疫监视，从而调节TME的成分。因此，这些相互作用也被考虑用于抗肿瘤药物的治疗开发。我们在这里讨论CSCs的免疫分子机制，并全面回顾CSCs和免疫系统之间的相互作用。因此，对这个主题的研究似乎为重新激发癌症治疗方法提供了新的思路。© 2023. 作者。

Ongoing research has revealed that the existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) is one of the biggest obstacles in the current cancer therapy. CSCs make an influential function in tumor progression, recurrence and chemoresistance due to their typical stemness characteristics. CSCs are preferentially distributed in niches, and those niche sites exhibit characteristics typical of the tumor microenvironment (TME). The complex interactions between CSCs and TME illustrate these synergistic effects. The phenotypic heterogeneity within CSCs and the spatial interactions with the surrounding tumor microenvironment led to increased therapeutic challenges. CSCs interact with immune cells to protect themselves against immune clearance by exploiting the immunosuppressive function of multiple immune checkpoint molecules. CSCs also can protect themselves against immune surveillance by excreting extracellular vesicles (EVs), growth factors, metabolites and cytokines into the TME, thereby modulating the composition of the TME. Therefore, these interactions are also being considered for the therapeutic development of anti-tumor agents. We discuss here the immune molecular mechanisms of CSCs and comprehensively review the interplay between CSCs and the immune system. Thus, studies on this topic seem to provide novel ideas for reinvigorating therapeutic approaches to cancer.© 2023. The Author(s).