Raskov Hans, Orhan Adile, Gaggar Shruti, Gögenur Ismail
Center for Surgical Science, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Front Oncol. 2021 May 20;11:668731. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.668731. eCollection 2021.
Our understanding of the tumor microenvironment (TME), including the interplay between tumor cells, stromal cells, immune cells, and extracellular matrix components, is mandatory for the innovation of new therapeutic approaches in cancer. The cell-cell communication within the TME plays a pivotal role in the evolution and progression of cancer. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) are major cell populations in the stroma of all solid tumors and often exert protumorigenic functions; however, the origin and precise functions of CAF and TAM are still incompletely understood. CAF and TAM hold significant potential as therapeutic targets to improve outcomes in oncology when combined with existing therapies. The regulation of CAF/TAM communication and/or their differentiation could be of high impact for improving the future targeted treatment strategies. Nevertheless, there is much scope for research and innovation in this field with regards to the development of novel drugs. In this review, we elaborate on the current knowledge on CAF and TAM in cancer and cancer immunotherapy. Additionally, by focusing on their heterogenous functions in different stages and types of cancer, we explore their role as potential therapeutic targets and highlight certain aspects of their functions that need further research.
我们对肿瘤微环境（TME）的理解，包括肿瘤细胞、基质细胞、免疫细胞和细胞外基质成分之间的相互作用，对于癌症新治疗方法的创新至关重要。TME内的细胞间通讯在癌症的发生发展中起着关键作用。癌症相关成纤维细胞（CAF）和肿瘤相关巨噬细胞（TAM）是所有实体瘤基质中的主要细胞群体，通常发挥促肿瘤功能；然而，CAF和TAM的起源及确切功能仍未完全明确。当与现有疗法联合使用时，CAF和TAM作为治疗靶点具有显著潜力，可改善肿瘤学治疗效果。调节CAF/TAM通讯和/或它们的分化对于改进未来的靶向治疗策略可能具有重大影响。尽管如此，在该领域新型药物的研发方面仍有很大的研究和创新空间。在这篇综述中，我们详细阐述了目前关于癌症和癌症免疫治疗中CAF和TAM的知识。此外，通过关注它们在不同阶段和类型癌症中的异质性功能，我们探讨了它们作为潜在治疗靶点的作用，并强调了其功能中需要进一步研究的某些方面。
