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Review
. 2022 Jun 22:12:911285.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.911285. eCollection 2022.

The Role of Tumor Microenvironment in Invasion and Metastasis of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Shuyue Zheng  1   2 , Beilei Liu  1   2 , Xinyuan Guan  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

The Role of Tumor Microenvironment in Invasion and Metastasis of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Shuyue Zheng et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common cancers in the world, with a high rate of morbidity. The invasion and metastasis of ESCC is the main reason for high mortality. More and more evidence suggests that metastasized cancer cells require cellular elements that contribute to ESCC tumor microenvironment (TME) formation. TME contains many immune cells and stromal components, which are critical to epithelial-mesenchymal transition, immune escape, angiogenesis/lymphangiogenesis, metastasis niche formation, and invasion/metastasis. In this review, we will focus on the mechanism of different microenvironment cellular elements in ESCC invasion and metastasis and discuss recent therapeutic attempts to restore the tumor-suppressing function of cells within the TME. It will represent the whole picture of TME in the metastasis and invasion process of ESCC.

Keywords: esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; immune regulation; invasion; metastasis; tumor microenvironment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The process of ESCC invasion and metastasis. ESCC, esophageal squamous carcinoma; MDSC, marrow-derived suppressor cell; Tregs, regulatory T cells; CAFS, cancer associated fibroblasts; EMT, epithelial—mesenchymal transition; TAM, tumor-associated macrophage; TAN, tumor-related neutrophil; ECM, extracellular matrix; CSCs, cancer stem cells.
Figure 2
Figure 2
How tumor microenvironment support ESCC invasion and metastasis. ESCC, esophageal squamous carcinoma; MD.SC, man-our-derived suppressor cell; DC, dendritic cell; Treg, regulatory T cell; CAE, Cancer associated fibroblast; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor; NK cell, natural killer cell; TAM, tumor-associated macrophage; TAN, tumor-related neutrophil; ECM, extracellular matrix; CSCs, cancer Stem cells.
Figure 3
Figure 3
How to re-educate the tumor microenvironment for treating ESCC invasion and metastasis. ESCC, esophageal squamous carcinoma; MDSC, mallow-derived suppressor cell; Treg, regulatory T cell; CAF, cancer associated fibroblast; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor; TAM, tumor-associated macrophage; TAN, tumor-related neutrophil; ECM, extracellular matrix; CSCs, cancer stem cells; PID-1, programmed cell death protein 1; CTLA4, T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4; CSF-1, colony-stimulating factor-1.
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