CD4 and neoplasm: It can thus be hypothesized that IL-10 mediates a growth/survival-supporting effect directly on intestinal tumor cells and/or dampens the activity of effector CD4+ T cells in tumor-promoting chronic inflammatory processes [85,86], whereby both effects would oppose the experimentally demonstrated suppressive influence of IL-10 on the antitumor immune response and its negative prognostic relevance in human CRC disease.