Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Feb 25;8(5):761-773.
doi: 10.7150/jca.17648. eCollection 2017.

Role of tumor microenvironment in tumorigenesis

Maonan Wang  1 , Jingzhou Zhao  2 , Lishen Zhang  2 , Fang Wei  2 , Yu Lian  2 , Yingfeng Wu  2 , Zhaojian Gong  2 , Shanshan Zhang  3 , Jianda Zhou  4 , Ke Cao  4 , Xiayu Li  4 , Wei Xiong  5 , Guiyuan Li  5 , Zhaoyang Zeng  5 , Can Guo  5
Affiliations
Review

Role of tumor microenvironment in tumorigenesis

Maonan Wang et al. J Cancer. .

Abstract

Tumorigenesis is a complex and dynamic process, consisting of three stages: initiation, progression, and metastasis. Tumors are encircled by extracellular matrix (ECM) and stromal cells, and the physiological state of the tumor microenvironment (TME) is closely connected to every step of tumorigenesis. Evidence suggests that the vital components of the TME are fibroblasts and myofibroblasts, neuroendocrine cells, adipose cells, immune and inflammatory cells, the blood and lymphatic vascular networks, and ECM. This manuscript, based on the current studies of the TME, offers a more comprehensive overview of the primary functions of each component of the TME in cancer initiation, progression, and invasion. The manuscript also includes primary therapeutic targeting markers for each player, which may be helpful in treating tumors.

Keywords: adipose cells; angiogenesis; cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs); immune-inflammatory cells; neuroendocrine cells.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The tumor microenvironment and characteristics of cancer. It is currently widely recognized that tumor microenvironments are wildly influenced by the ten main characteristics of cancer: A. unlimited multiplication; B. escaping from growth suppressors; C. promoting invasion and metastasis; D. resisting apoptosis; E. stimulating angiogenesis; F. maintaining proliferative signaling; G. elimination of cell energy limitation; H. evading immune destruction; I. genome instability and mutation; J. tumor-enhanced inflammation. Lower cure rate and poor prognosis of cancer patients are closely related to these ten characteristics of cancer. These ten characteristics make cancer more mysterious within the complex tumor microenvironments.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The inactive network of cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hanahan D, Weinberg RA. Hallmarks of cancer: the next generation. Cell. 2011;144:646–74. - PubMed
    1. Xiong W, Zeng ZY, Xia JH. et al. A susceptibility locus at chromosome 3p21 linked to familial nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Cancer Res. 2004;64:1972–4. - PubMed
    1. Zeng Z, Zhou Y, Zhang W. et al. Family-based association analysis validates chromosome 3p21 as a putative nasopharyngeal carcinoma susceptibility locus. Genet Med. 2006;8:156–60. - PubMed
    1. Zeng Z, Zhou Y, Xiong W. et al. Analysis of gene expression identifies candidate molecular markers in nasopharyngeal carcinoma using microdissection and cDNA microarray. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2007;133:71–81. - PubMed
    1. Zeng ZY, Zhou YH, Zhang WL. et al. Gene expression profiling of nasopharyngeal carcinoma reveals the abnormally regulated Wnt signaling pathway. Hum Pathol. 2007;38:120–33. - PubMed