Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma and Its Microenvironment: Past, Current, and Future Perspectives

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an epithelial malignancy that raises public health concerns in endemic countries. Despite breakthroughs in therapeutic strategies, late diagnosis and drug resistance often lead to unsatisfactory clinical outcomes in NPC patients. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a complex niche consisting of tumor-associated cells, such as fibroblasts, endothelial cells, leukocytes, that influences tumor initiation, progression, invasion, and metastasis. Cells in the TME communicate through various mechanisms, of note, exosomes, ligand-receptor interactions, cytokines and chemokines are active players in the construction of TME, characterized by an abundance of immune infiltrates with suppressed immune activities. The NPC microenvironment serves as a target-rich niche for the discovery of potential promising predictive or diagnostic biomarkers and the development of therapeutic strategies. Thus, huge efforts have been made to exploit the role of the NPC microenvironment. The whole picture of the NPC microenvironment remains to be portrayed to understand the mechanisms underlying tumor biology and implement research into clinical practice. The current review discusses the recent insights into the role of TME in the development and progression of NPC which results in different clinical outcomes of patients. Clinical interventions with the use of TME components as potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets, their challenges, and future perspectives will be introduced. This review anticipates to provide insights to the researchers for future preclinical, translational and clinical research on the NPC microenvironment.

Novel roles of METTL1/WDR4 in tumor via m7G methylation

“…Nasopharyngeal carcinoma had a high incidence in East and Southeast Asia, and terminal patients had a poorer prognosis. 46 High-level METTL1 selectively promoted mRNA levels depending on m 7 G-tRNA codons and activated the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and increased the cyclin D1 level in nasopharyngeal carcinoma, promoting the proliferation and migration of cancer cells. 47 …”

Transcriptomic profiling revealed FZD10 as a novel biomarker for nasopharyngeal carcinoma recurrence

“…The physical examination of the patient is frequently used to identify cervical lymphadenopathy, which serves as the basis for the diagnosis of NPC. It is common practice to conduct radiographic imaging, including magnetic resonance imaging of the primary and nodal areas and computer tomography to check for bone degradation at the base of the skull, which may be visible at first glance ( 4 ). However, due to the vague symptoms and the painless, quiet tumor growth at the primary site, NPC is typically detected at a late stage.…”

Cuproptosis related genes associated with Jab1 shapes tumor microenvironment and pharmacological profile in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

“…The NPC microenvironment is characterized by intense filtration of tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs), which account for 40% to 50% of NPC tumor mass, with EBVnegative CD3+T lymphocytes being the most common infiltrators (2). Despite their abundance, an effective immune response is lacking and immunosuppressive infiltrates such as regulatory T cells (Tregs), M2 macrophages, and myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are present, leading to immune tolerance and promoting tumor progression (3). How immune cells affected the occurrence and development of a tumor has always been a challenging problem in the field of tumor immunology.…”