Abstract:Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) arises from the epithelial cells located in the nasopharynx and has a distinct geographic distribution. Chronic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, as its most common causative agents, can be detected in 100% of NPC types. In-depth studies of the cellular and molecular events leading to immunosuppression in NPC have revealed new therapeutic targets and diverse combinations that promise to benefit patients with highly refractory, advanced and metastatic NPC. This paper reviews the… Show more
“…It should be noted that either the differentiated or undifferentiated subtype generally has a certain number of spindle cells (sarcoma-like) (8,13), which tend to cause erosion of surrounding tissue (9) and predominantly present in the invasive front or infiltrating the stroma (14,15). On the other side, the NPC microenvironment is highly heterogeneous with tumor stroma reaction (9), biotic components comprise of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), immune cells and endothelial cells, and abiotic components include extracellular matrix (ECM), cytokines, nutrients (8,12,16). Together, we can postulate that this variety of cancer cell subtypes, cooperating and competing with each other and interacting within their habitats spatiotemporally in the whole ecosystem of a high degree of genetic and phenotypic diversity, that jointly contribute to both malignant progression and clinical practise in NPC patients.…”
Section: Npc As Pathological Ecosystem Of "Unity Of Ecology and Evolu...mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…So the point I'm emphasizing here is that the great majority of these hallmarks ultimately affect cancer cell fitness through the ability of survival and/or reproduction (Figure 1). Most of hallmark phenotypic features governed by the crosstalk between cancer cells and tumor microenvironment in NPC have also been explored in more recent years (8,16,(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)43,44). Here I'd like to emphasize that, "nothing in evolution makes sense except in the light of tumor microenvironment".…”
Section: Npc As Pathological Ecosystem Of "Unity Of Ecology and Evolu...mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In turn, TAM can induce EMT and promote NF-κB activation of tumor cells by CCL18 to enhance cancer metastasis 86 . The dynamic crosstalk between cancer cells and tumor microenvironment including immune cells in NPC has been well summarized 8 , 16 , 189 . To my view, such reciprocal interplay of NPC should be better essentially described as population “mutualism” in ecology.…”
Section: Exploiting Ecological Principles To Understand Npc Progressionmentioning
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a particular entity of head neck cancer that is generally regarded as a genetic disease with diverse intertumor and intratumor heterogeneity. This perspective review mainly outlines the up-to-date knowledge of cancer ecology and NPC progression, and presents a number of conceptual stepping-stones. At the beginning, I explicitly advocate that the nature of NPC (cancer) is not a genetic disease but an ecological disease: a multidimensional spatiotemporal "unity of ecology and evolution" pathological ecosystem. The hallmarks of cancer is proposed to act as ecological factors of population fitness. Subsequently, NPC cells are described as invasive species and its metastasis as a multidirectional ecological dispersal. The foundational ecological principles include intraspecific relationship (e.g. communication) and interspecific relationship (e.g. competition, predation, parasitism and mutualism) are interpreted to understand NPC progression. "Mulberry-fish-ponds" model can well illustrate the dynamic reciprocity of cancer ecosystem. Tumor-host interface is the ecological transition zone of cancer, and tumor buddings should be recognized as ecological islands separated from the mainland. It should be noted that tumor-host interface has a significantly molecular and functional edge effect because of its curvature and irregularity. Selection driving factors and ecological therapy including hyperthermia for NPC patients, and future perspectives in such field as "ecological pathology", "multidimensional tumoriecology" are also discussed. I advance that "nothing in cancer evolution or ecology makes sense except in the light of the other". The cancer ecology tree is constructed to comprehensively point out the future research direction. Taken together, the establishment of NPC ecology theory and cancer ecology tree might provide a novel conceptual framework and paradigm for our understanding of cancer complex causal process and potential preventive and therapeutic applications for patients.
“…It should be noted that either the differentiated or undifferentiated subtype generally has a certain number of spindle cells (sarcoma-like) (8,13), which tend to cause erosion of surrounding tissue (9) and predominantly present in the invasive front or infiltrating the stroma (14,15). On the other side, the NPC microenvironment is highly heterogeneous with tumor stroma reaction (9), biotic components comprise of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), immune cells and endothelial cells, and abiotic components include extracellular matrix (ECM), cytokines, nutrients (8,12,16). Together, we can postulate that this variety of cancer cell subtypes, cooperating and competing with each other and interacting within their habitats spatiotemporally in the whole ecosystem of a high degree of genetic and phenotypic diversity, that jointly contribute to both malignant progression and clinical practise in NPC patients.…”
Section: Npc As Pathological Ecosystem Of "Unity Of Ecology and Evolu...mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…So the point I'm emphasizing here is that the great majority of these hallmarks ultimately affect cancer cell fitness through the ability of survival and/or reproduction (Figure 1). Most of hallmark phenotypic features governed by the crosstalk between cancer cells and tumor microenvironment in NPC have also been explored in more recent years (8,16,(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)43,44). Here I'd like to emphasize that, "nothing in evolution makes sense except in the light of tumor microenvironment".…”
Section: Npc As Pathological Ecosystem Of "Unity Of Ecology and Evolu...mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In turn, TAM can induce EMT and promote NF-κB activation of tumor cells by CCL18 to enhance cancer metastasis 86 . The dynamic crosstalk between cancer cells and tumor microenvironment including immune cells in NPC has been well summarized 8 , 16 , 189 . To my view, such reciprocal interplay of NPC should be better essentially described as population “mutualism” in ecology.…”
Section: Exploiting Ecological Principles To Understand Npc Progressionmentioning
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a particular entity of head neck cancer that is generally regarded as a genetic disease with diverse intertumor and intratumor heterogeneity. This perspective review mainly outlines the up-to-date knowledge of cancer ecology and NPC progression, and presents a number of conceptual stepping-stones. At the beginning, I explicitly advocate that the nature of NPC (cancer) is not a genetic disease but an ecological disease: a multidimensional spatiotemporal "unity of ecology and evolution" pathological ecosystem. The hallmarks of cancer is proposed to act as ecological factors of population fitness. Subsequently, NPC cells are described as invasive species and its metastasis as a multidirectional ecological dispersal. The foundational ecological principles include intraspecific relationship (e.g. communication) and interspecific relationship (e.g. competition, predation, parasitism and mutualism) are interpreted to understand NPC progression. "Mulberry-fish-ponds" model can well illustrate the dynamic reciprocity of cancer ecosystem. Tumor-host interface is the ecological transition zone of cancer, and tumor buddings should be recognized as ecological islands separated from the mainland. It should be noted that tumor-host interface has a significantly molecular and functional edge effect because of its curvature and irregularity. Selection driving factors and ecological therapy including hyperthermia for NPC patients, and future perspectives in such field as "ecological pathology", "multidimensional tumoriecology" are also discussed. I advance that "nothing in cancer evolution or ecology makes sense except in the light of the other". The cancer ecology tree is constructed to comprehensively point out the future research direction. Taken together, the establishment of NPC ecology theory and cancer ecology tree might provide a novel conceptual framework and paradigm for our understanding of cancer complex causal process and potential preventive and therapeutic applications for patients.
“…22 Moreover, tumor immune microenvironment changes are closely associated with inflammatory and immune cell distribution in the peripheral blood. 23,24 Some studies have suggested that abnormal changes in systemic inflammatory cells, such as neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes, are linked to the prognosis of many malignancies. Neutrophils could influence tumor development and progression via promoting tumor angiogenesis, aiding tumor cells to evade immune surveillance, and secreting large amounts of reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide.…”
This study aimed to assess the response prediction and prognostic values of different peripheral blood cell biomarkers for advanced lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients receiving first-line therapy. Methods: Patients diagnosed with advanced LUAD as well as healthy controls and patients with benign pulmonary diseases were collected in this retrospective study. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed in a 1:1 ratio. Survival state was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazard model was used to assess the prognostic factors. Results: Compared with the control groups, the level of peripheral blood leucocyte, neutrophil, monocyte, platelet, and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, monocyte to lymphocyte ratio, platelet to lymphocyte ratio, and systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) were higher in LUAD patients (all p < 0.001). Some inflammatory markers decreased at the time of optimal response and then increased again as the disease progressed. Multivariate analysis revealed that SIRI and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were independent prognostic factors no matter before or after PSM analysis. Area under the curve (AUC) of SIRI and LDH were 0.625 (p < 0.001) and 0.596 (p = 0.008), respectively. When SIRI and LDH were combined, the AUC reached 0.649 (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Pretreatment SIRI was an independent prognostic factor of progression free survival (PFS) in advanced LUAD patients. Dynamic monitoring of inflammatory index changes could help to predict therapeutic efficacy. The combination of SIRI and LDH is expected to be a promising clinically accessible biomarker in the future.
“…Recruitment of immune cells, both immunostimulating and immunosuppressive, is mediated in part by increased expression of chemokines by tumour cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells ( Chen et al, 2020 ). Immune escape can be mediated by direct communication between the tumour and immune cells, for instance via inhibitory ligands/receptors and/or mutations of antigen presentation machinery, and/or indirect communication through chemokines/cytokines ( Jiang and Ying, 2022 ). Fig.…”
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