Both T cells and NK cells have cytotoxicity. However, most immunotherapy targets T cells rather than NK cells, such as CAR T and PD-1 inhibitor. Is it because T cells kills more cancer cells than NK cells?
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1$\begingroup$ Note that clinicaltrials.gov lists 628 trials under "NK cancer", so even though there are more T cell trials, it's not as if NK cells are ignored; and there are more ways to manipulate T cells than NK cells, which probably explains the greater number of trials. $\endgroup$– iayorkCommented Dec 23, 2016 at 13:54
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1$\begingroup$ T and NK cells have different functions, and respond to different signals for activation - for example, NKs lack CD3 and the entire TCR complex. They are both vital for anti-tumor immunity. T cells are unable to become activated by cells lacking MHC-1/peptide complexes, which can happen in some tumors, so in that case NKs are indispensable. The Wikipedia article on NK cells is pretty good, I'd suggest reading it if you haven't already. $\endgroup$– MattDMoCommented Dec 23, 2016 at 16:23
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