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Tumor Microenvironment in Thymic Epithelial Tumors: A Narrative Review

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The tumor microenvironment (TME) is defined as the environment surrounding a tumor. There is a close, dynamic relation and interaction between the tumor and its neighboring microenvironment. There are some particularities of the thymus itself and of the TME of thymic epithelial tumor...

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Autores principales: Agrafiotis, Apostolos C., Siozopoulou, Vasiliki, Hendriks, Jeroen M. H., Pauwels, Patrick, Koljenovic, Senada, Van Schil, Paul E.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9775621/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36551568
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers14246082
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author Agrafiotis, Apostolos C.
Siozopoulou, Vasiliki
Hendriks, Jeroen M. H.
Pauwels, Patrick
Koljenovic, Senada
Van Schil, Paul E.
author_facet Agrafiotis, Apostolos C.
Siozopoulou, Vasiliki
Hendriks, Jeroen M. H.
Pauwels, Patrick
Koljenovic, Senada
Van Schil, Paul E.
author_sort Agrafiotis, Apostolos C.
collection PubMed
description SIMPLE SUMMARY: The tumor microenvironment (TME) is defined as the environment surrounding a tumor. There is a close, dynamic relation and interaction between the tumor and its neighboring microenvironment. There are some particularities of the thymus itself and of the TME of thymic epithelial tumors that hinder the routine use of targeted therapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors. The understanding of the unique characteristics of the TME of thymic epithelial tumors could possibly result in the development of novel promising therapies. ABSTRACT: The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a complex and constantly changing entity. The TME consists of stromal cells, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and innate and adaptive immune cells. Cancer development and progression occurs through this interplay between the tumor and the adjacent stroma. Cancer cells are capable of modifying their microenvironment by secreting various message-carrying molecules, such as cytokines, chemokines, and other factors. This action causes a reprogramming of the neighboring cells, which are enabled to play a crucial role in tumor survival and progression. The study of TME has many clinical implications in terms of cancer therapeutics because many new drugs, such as antibodies, kinase inhibitors, and liposome formulations that can encapsulate anti-cancer drugs, can be developed. Although chemotherapy is considered the standard of treatment for advanced disease, recent research has brought to light immunotherapy as a possible systemic alternative. However, the complex structure and function of the thymus hinders its routine use in clinical practice. The aim of this review paper is to discuss the recent advances in the investigation of the unique characteristics of the TME of thymic epithelial tumors that could possibly lead to the development of novel promising therapies.
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spelling pubmed-97756212022-12-23 Tumor Microenvironment in Thymic Epithelial Tumors: A Narrative Review Agrafiotis, Apostolos C. Siozopoulou, Vasiliki Hendriks, Jeroen M. H. Pauwels, Patrick Koljenovic, Senada Van Schil, Paul E. Cancers (Basel) Review SIMPLE SUMMARY: The tumor microenvironment (TME) is defined as the environment surrounding a tumor. There is a close, dynamic relation and interaction between the tumor and its neighboring microenvironment. There are some particularities of the thymus itself and of the TME of thymic epithelial tumors that hinder the routine use of targeted therapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors. The understanding of the unique characteristics of the TME of thymic epithelial tumors could possibly result in the development of novel promising therapies. ABSTRACT: The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a complex and constantly changing entity. The TME consists of stromal cells, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and innate and adaptive immune cells. Cancer development and progression occurs through this interplay between the tumor and the adjacent stroma. Cancer cells are capable of modifying their microenvironment by secreting various message-carrying molecules, such as cytokines, chemokines, and other factors. This action causes a reprogramming of the neighboring cells, which are enabled to play a crucial role in tumor survival and progression. The study of TME has many clinical implications in terms of cancer therapeutics because many new drugs, such as antibodies, kinase inhibitors, and liposome formulations that can encapsulate anti-cancer drugs, can be developed. Although chemotherapy is considered the standard of treatment for advanced disease, recent research has brought to light immunotherapy as a possible systemic alternative. However, the complex structure and function of the thymus hinders its routine use in clinical practice. The aim of this review paper is to discuss the recent advances in the investigation of the unique characteristics of the TME of thymic epithelial tumors that could possibly lead to the development of novel promising therapies. MDPI 2022-12-10 /pmc/articles/PMC9775621/ /pubmed/36551568 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers14246082 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Agrafiotis, Apostolos C.
Siozopoulou, Vasiliki
Hendriks, Jeroen M. H.
Pauwels, Patrick
Koljenovic, Senada
Van Schil, Paul E.
Tumor Microenvironment in Thymic Epithelial Tumors: A Narrative Review
title Tumor Microenvironment in Thymic Epithelial Tumors: A Narrative Review
title_full Tumor Microenvironment in Thymic Epithelial Tumors: A Narrative Review
title_fullStr Tumor Microenvironment in Thymic Epithelial Tumors: A Narrative Review
title_full_unstemmed Tumor Microenvironment in Thymic Epithelial Tumors: A Narrative Review
title_short Tumor Microenvironment in Thymic Epithelial Tumors: A Narrative Review
title_sort tumor microenvironment in thymic epithelial tumors: a narrative review
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9775621/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36551568
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers14246082
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