Evading elimination by the immune system is a hallmark of cancer, but the exact timing and pathways of immune evasion are still to be explored. Colorectal cancers were found to engage a combination of epigenetic, genetic and microenvironmental mechanisms, and establish immune evasion prior to their outgrowth.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Galassi, C., Chan, T. A., Vitale, I. & Galluzzi, L. The hallmarks of cancer immune evasion. Cancer Cell 11, 1825–1863 (2024). This review summarizes immune evasion pathways and their therapeutic relevance.
Cornish, A. J. et al. The genomic landscape of 2,023 colorectal cancers. Nature 633, 127–136 (2024). This paper describes genetic immunological alterations in 2,023 CRCs.
Heide, T. et al. The co-evolution of the genome and epigenome in colorectal cancer. Nature 611, 733–743 (2022). This paper presents the multi-omic EPICC dataset and highlights the importance of chromatin alterations in cancer development.
Sottoriva, A. et al. A Big Bang model of human colorectal tumor growth. Nat. Genet. 47, 209–216 (2015). This paper presents the ‘Big Bang’ model of how CRCs develop.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This is a summary of: Lakatos, E. et al. Epigenetically driven and early immune evasion in colorectal cancer evolution. Nat. Genet. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-025-02349-1 (2025).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Timing and mechanisms of immune evasion in colorectal cancers. Nat Genet (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-025-02348-2
Published:
Version of record:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-025-02348-2