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Review
. 2015 Oct 14:5:214.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2015.00214. eCollection 2015.

Remodeling Components of the Tumor Microenvironment to Enhance Cancer Therapy

Vasiliki Gkretsi  1 , Andreas Stylianou  1 , Panagiotis Papageorgis  2 , Christiana Polydorou  1 , Triantafyllos Stylianopoulos  1
Affiliations
Review

Remodeling Components of the Tumor Microenvironment to Enhance Cancer Therapy

Vasiliki Gkretsi et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Solid tumor pathophysiology is characterized by an abnormal microenvironment that guides tumor progression and poses barriers to the efficacy of cancer therapies. Most common among tumor types are abnormalities in the structure of the tumor vasculature and stroma. Remodeling the tumor microenvironment with the aim to normalize any aberrant properties has the potential to improve therapy. In this review, we discuss structural abnormalities of the tumor microenvironment and summarize the therapeutic strategies that have been developed to normalize tumors as well as their potential to enhance therapy. Finally, we present different in vitro models that have been developed to analyze and better understand the effects of the tumor microenvironment on cancer cell behavior.

Keywords: in vitro models; stress alleviation; tumor vessel permeability; vascular normalization; vessel compression.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic of strategies to remodel the tumor microenvironment to enhance cancer therapy. Vascular normalization treatment fortifies the hyperpermeable tumor blood vessels, whereas stress alleviation reopens compressed tumor blood vessels. Both strategies aim at improving tumor perfusion. Adapted with permission from Ref. (86).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Diagrammatic representation of the available in vitro models to study tumor microenvironment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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