The Role of Tumor Microenvironment in Solid Tumors: Development of Cancer Research

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Tumor Microenvironment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2025 | Viewed by 1704

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Interests: breast Cancer; neuropathology; molecular pathology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Interests: breast cancer; urogenital cancers; neuropathology; molecular pathology; digital pathology; tumor microenvironment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Interests: urology; genitourinary pathology; prostate cancer; molecular pathology; soft tissue tumors; translational research
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Groundbreaking research and cutting-edge technologies have shed light on tumors’ complex and heterogeneous composition, highlighting the pivotal role of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in cancer initiation, progression, metastasization, and immune escape. The investigation of the multifaceted bidirectional interactions between these two aspects has led to significant developments in cancer research. However, several aspects still remain unclear, necessitating innovative studies with unique approaches which could revolutionize the understanding of cancer mechanisms, and lay the foundations for novel therapeutic strategies targeted against TME components.

This Special Issue in Cancers titled ‘The Role of Tumor Microenvironment in Solid Tumors: New Developments in Cancer Research’ will try to draw a complete portrait of the current state of knowledge on TME, highlighting the pioneering findings that could have a promising translational application. We welcome original research articles, reviews (either systematic or discursive), and short communications with significant preliminary results.

Prof. Dr. Antonio Giuseppe Naccarato
Dr. Giuseppe Fanelli
Dr. Andres Martin Acosta
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • tumor microenvironment
  • immune microenvironment
  • solid tumors
  • prognostic biomarkers
  • predictive biomarkers
  • translational research

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 8614 KiB  
Article
CSF1R Ligands Expressed by Murine Gliomas Promote M-MDSCs to Suppress CD8+ T Cells in a NOS-Dependent Manner
by Gregory P. Takacs, Julia S. Garcia, Caitlyn A. Hodges, Christian J. Kreiger, Alexandra Sherman and Jeffrey K. Harrison
Cancers 2024, 16(17), 3055; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16173055 - 1 Sep 2024
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Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant primary brain tumor, resulting in poor survival despite aggressive therapies. GBM is characterized by a highly heterogeneous and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) made up predominantly of infiltrating peripheral immune cells. One significant immune cell type that [...] Read more.
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant primary brain tumor, resulting in poor survival despite aggressive therapies. GBM is characterized by a highly heterogeneous and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) made up predominantly of infiltrating peripheral immune cells. One significant immune cell type that contributes to glioma immune evasion is a population of immunosuppressive cells, termed myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Previous studies suggest that a subset of myeloid cells, expressing monocytic (M)-MDSC markers and dual expression of chemokine receptors CCR2 and CX3CR1, utilize CCR2 to infiltrate the TME. This study evaluated the mechanism of CCR2+/CX3CR1+ M-MDSC differentiation and T cell suppressive function in murine glioma models. We determined that bone marrow-derived CCR2+/CX3CR1+ cells adopt an immune suppressive cell phenotype when cultured with glioma-derived factors. Glioma-secreted CSF1R ligands M-CSF and IL-34 were identified as key drivers of M-MDSC differentiation while adenosine and iNOS pathways were implicated in the M-MDSC suppression of T cells. Mining a human GBM spatial RNAseq database revealed a variety of different pathways that M-MDSCs utilize to exert their suppressive function that is driven by complex niches within the microenvironment. These data provide a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanism of M-MDSCs in glioblastoma. Full article
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12 pages, 5298 KiB  
Article
A Mature Tertiary Lymphoid Structure with a Ki-67-Positive Proliferating Germinal Center Is Associated with a Good Prognosis and High Intratumoral Immune Cell Infiltration in Advanced Colorectal Cancer
by Natsumi Mori, Gendensuren Dorjkhorloo, Takuya Shiraishi, Bilguun Erkhem-Ochir, Haruka Okami, Arisa Yamaguchi, Ikuma Shioi, Chika Komine, Mizuki Endo, Takaomi Seki, Nobuhiro Hosoi, Nobuhiro Nakazawa, Yuta Shibasaki, Takuhisa Okada, Katsuya Osone, Akihiko Sano, Makoto Sakai, Makoto Sohda, Takehiko Yokobori, Ken Shirabe and Hiroshi Saekiadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Cancers 2024, 16(15), 2684; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16152684 - 28 Jul 2024
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Abstract
Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) are complex lymphocyte clusters that arise in non-lymphoid tissues due to inflammation or cancer. A mature TLS with proliferating germinal centers is associated with a favorable prognosis in various cancers. However, the effect of TLS maturity on advanced colorectal [...] Read more.
Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) are complex lymphocyte clusters that arise in non-lymphoid tissues due to inflammation or cancer. A mature TLS with proliferating germinal centers is associated with a favorable prognosis in various cancers. However, the effect of TLS maturity on advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unexplored. We analyzed the significance of TLS maturity and tumor Ki-67 expression in surgically resected tumors from 78 patients with pathological T4 CRC. Mature TLS was defined as the organized infiltration of T and B cells with Ki-67-positive proliferating germinal centers. We analyzed the relationship between TLS maturity and intratumoral immune cell infiltration. Mature TLS with germinal center Ki-67 expression was associated with microsatellite instability and improved survival; however, high tumor Ki-67 expression was associated with poor survival in the same cohort. Multivariate analysis identified the absence of mature TLS as an independent predictor of poor post-recurrence overall survival. Intratumoral infiltration of T lymphocytes and macrophages was significantly elevated in tumors with mature TLS compared to those lacking it. High Ki-67 levels and absent mature TLS were identified as poor prognostic factors in advanced CRC. Mature TLS could serve as a promising marker for patients at high-risk of CRC. Full article
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