在寄生病原体入侵后，宿主产生了大量的防御机制，其中第一型干扰素在调节免疫系统反应方面发挥了重要作用。它们诱导多种干扰素刺激基因 (ISGs)，一旦激活，就起着多种不同的作用。在过去几十年里，有多项研究探讨了 ISGs 在癌症中的作用，其中 ISG15 是其中研究最多的，因为它具有促进和抗癌的作用。本文旨在更新关于 ISG15 在癌症中的最新观察和发现。我们提供简要概述了最初的观察和重要历史发现，这些帮助科学家了解 ISG15 的结构和功能。我们旨在概述 ISG15 在癌症中的作用，重点介绍研究 ISG15 在调节肿瘤微环境分子机制方面的研究。此外，我们讨论了 ISG15 在各种癌症中的失常以及与其促进和抗肿瘤作用相关的分子机制。最后，我们还讨论了 ISG15 在当前癌症治疗中的多种治疗应用。版权所有 © 2023 Elsevier B.V.，保留所有权利。

Among the plethora of defense mechanisms which a host elicits after pathogen invasion, type 1 interferons play a central role in regulating the immune system's response. They induce several interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) which play a diverse role once activated. Over the past few decades, there have been several studies exploring the role of ISGs in cancer and ISG15 is among the most studied for its pro and anti-tumorigenic role. In this review, we aim to provide an update on the recent observations and findings related to ISG15 in cancer. We provide a brief overview about the initial observations and important historical findings which helped scientists understand structure and function of ISG15. We aim to provide an overview of ISG15 in cancer with an emphasis on studies which delve into the molecular mechanism of ISG15 in modulating the tumor microenvironment. Further, the dysregulation of ISG15 in cancer and the molecular mechanisms associated with its pro and anti-tumor roles are discussed in respective cancer types. Finally, we discuss multiple therapeutic applications of ISG15 in current cancer therapy.Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.