免疫疗法，特别是免疫检查点阻断疗法，代表了癌症治疗史上的一个重要里程碑。然而，目前癌症患者对免疫治疗的反应率仍需提高；因此，迫切需要使患者对免疫治疗敏感的新策略。红系祖细胞（EPC）是一群未成熟的红系细胞，具有强大的免疫抑制功能。 EPCs作为新认识的免疫抑制群体，目前尚未得到有效的靶向治疗。在这篇综述中，我们总结了EPCs的免疫调节机制，特别是CD45 EPCs。此外，鉴于EPCs对肿瘤微环境的调节作用，我们提出了EPC免疫的概念，介绍了针对EPCs的现有策略，并讨论了基础研究和临床应用中遇到的挑战。特别是，讨论了现有癌症治疗对 EPC 的影响，为联合治疗奠定了基础。本次综述的目的是通过针对 EPC 来提高癌症免疫疗法的疗效提供新途径。© 2024 UICC。

Immunotherapy, especially immune checkpoint blockade therapy, represents a major milestone in the history of cancer therapy. However, the current response rate to immunotherapy among cancer patients must be improved; thus, new strategies for sensitizing patients to immunotherapy are urgently needed. Erythroid progenitor cells (EPCs), a population of immature erythroid cells, exert potent immunosuppressive functions. As a newly recognized immunosuppressive population, EPCs have not yet been effectively targeted. In this review, we summarize the immunoregulatory mechanisms of EPCs, especially for CD45+ EPCs. Moreover, in view of the regulatory effects of EPCs on the tumor microenvironment, we propose the concept of EPC-immunity, present existing strategies for targeting EPCs, and discuss the challenges encountered in both basic research and clinical applications. In particular, the impact of existing cancer treatments on EPCs is discussed, laying the foundation for combination therapies. The aim of this review is to provide new avenues for improving the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy by targeting EPCs.© 2024 UICC.