The clinical role of the TME in solid cancer

Abstract

The highly complex and heterogenous ecosystem of a tumour not only contains malignant cells, but also interacting cells from the host such as endothelial cells, stromal fibroblasts, and a variety of immune cells that control tumour growth and invasion. It is well established that anti-tumour immunity is a critical hurdle that must be overcome for tumours to initiate, grow and spread and that anti-tumour immunity can be modulated using current immunotherapies to achieve meaningful anti-tumour clinical responses. Pioneering studies in melanoma, ovarian and colorectal cancer have demonstrated that certain features of the tumour immune microenvironment (TME)—in particular, the degree of tumour infiltration by cytotoxic T cells—can predict a patient’s clinical outcome. More recently, studies in renal cell cancer have highlighted the importance of assessing the phenotype of the infiltrating T cells to predict early relapse. Furthermore, intricate interactions with non-immune cellular players such as endothelial cells and fibroblasts modulate the clinical impact of immune cells in the TME. Here, we review the critical components of the TME in solid tumours and how they shape the immune cell contexture, and we summarise numerous studies evaluating its clinical significance from a prognostic and theranostic perspective.

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“…One determinant of positive immunotherapy outcome is the efficient infiltration of T cells into the tumor (Chen and Mellman, 2013;Fridman et al, 2017;Giraldo et al, 2019;Sharma and Allison, 2015). However, our understanding of the factors that dictate the trafficking of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), either positively or negatively, is incomplete and requires identification of new tractable targets (Anandappa et al, 2020;Sackstein et al, 2017;van der Woude et al, 2017).…”

Decoding the Role of Interleukin-30 in the Crosstalk between Cancer and Myeloid Cells

“…Tumor-associated immune cells and their crosstalk with cancer and the components of its microenvironment dramatically affect tumor behavior and patient outcome [1,2]. The concept of cancer immunoediting, represents the dynamic of this interaction, which runs through the phases of elimination, equilibrium and escape, and explains how immunosuppression can overwhelm immunosurveillance [3], eliciting the development of immunological-based approaches to cancer treatment [4,5].…”

Organic Nanocarriers for Delivery and Targeting of Therapeutic Agents for Cancer Treatment

“…Solid tumors are heterogeneous ecosystems not only comprised of cancer cells, but also a complex array of endothelial, mesenchymal, and immune cells that are recruited to the tumor bed and form highly interactive tumor stroma, which along with the extracellular matrix (ECM) are collectively known as the tumor microenvironment (TME) ( Figure ) . Tumor‐associated stromal cells interact and co‐evolve with cancer cells to construct a protective microenvironment that regulate tumor progression and metastasis.…”