Abstract
Tumor microenvironment denotes the non-cancerous cells and components presented in the tumor, including molecules produced and released by them. The constant interactions between tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment play decisive roles in tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, and response to therapies. The tumor microenvironment as a therapeutic target in cancer has attracted great research and clinical interest. Here we summarize the current progress in targeting the tumor microenvironment in both drug development and clinical trials; highlight challenges in targeting the tumor microenvironment to achieve therapeutic efficacy; explore new technologies and approaches to better decipher the tumor microenvironment; and discuss strategies to intervene in the pro-tumor microenvironment and maximize therapeutic benefits.
Keywords
Tumor microenvironmentCancer researchTumor heterogeneityTumor progressionCancerTumor cellsMetastasisMedicineBiologyInternal medicine
MeSH Terms
Antineoplastic AgentsCell TransformationNeoplasticClinical Trials as TopicDrug DevelopmentHumansNeoplasmsTumor Microenvironment
Affiliated Institutions
Related Publications
The evolving tumor microenvironment: From cancer initiation to metastatic outgrowth
Cancers represent complex ecosystems comprising tumor cells and a multitude of non-cancerous cells, embedded in an altered extracellular matrix. The tumor microenvironment (TME)...
Diversity and Biology of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts
Efforts to develop anti-cancer therapies have largely focused on targeting the epithelial compartment, despite the presence of non-neoplastic stromal components that substantial...
Turning foes to friends: targeting cancer-associated fibroblasts
Current paradigms of cancer-centric therapeutics are usually not sufficient to eradicate the malignancy, as the cancer stroma may prompt tumour relapse and therapeutic resistanc...
The tumor microenvironment
A tumor is not simply a group of cancer cells, but rather a heterogeneous collection of infiltrating and resident host cells, secreted factors and extracellular matrix. Tumor ce...
Therapeutic Targeting of the Tumor Microenvironment
Abstract Strategies to therapeutically target the tumor microenvironment (TME) have emerged as a promising approach for cancer treatment in recent years due to the critical role...
Publication Info
- Year
- 2020
- Type
- review
- Volume
- 221
- Pages
- 107753-107753
- Citations
- 1721
- Access
- Closed
External Links
Social Impact
Altmetric
PlumX Metrics
Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions
Citation Metrics
1721
OpenAlex
24
Influential
1511
CrossRef
Cite This
Yi Xiao,
Dihua Yu
(2020).
Tumor microenvironment as a therapeutic target in cancer.
Pharmacology & Therapeutics
, 221
, 107753-107753.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2020.107753
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2020.107753
- PMID
- 33259885
- PMCID
- PMC8084948