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Cancer Microenvironment

Section edited by Davide Bedognetti and Jessica Roelands

© © nopparit / Getty Images / iStock

The Cancer microenvironment section publishes research on the cellular and molecular components of the cancer microenvironment, with a particular focus on translational research that has important implications for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human neoplasms.

Submissions that relate to the characterisation of the molecular profile and regulation of cancers at different tumour stages are especially welcome, as are those which identify specific cancer microenvironments that predict tumour incidence, response to therapy and outcome. Laboratory studies of new drugs and biological agents that target cancer microenvironments will also be considered.

Featured articles


microRNA-1271 impedes the development of prostate cancer by downregulating PES1 and upregulating ERβ

Research | Zhenming Jiang et al


Tumor microenvironment differences between primary tumor and brain metastases

Review | Bernardo Cacho-Díaz et al


Identification of key genes controlling breast cancer stem cell characteristics via stemness indices analysis

Research | Jianying Pei et al

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  1. The correlation and difference in T-cell phenotypes between peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) and the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) in patients with gastric cancer (GC) is not clear. We aimed to chara...

    Authors: Jing Ma, Jianhui Li, Nan He, Meirui Qian, Yuanyuan Lu, Xin Wang and Kaichun Wu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2023 21:73
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. Enterococcus faecalis (Efa) has been shown to be a “driver bacteria” in the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aims to explore the effect of specific metabolites of Efa on CRC.

    Authors: Li Zhang, Jing Liu, Mingxia Deng, Xiangliu Chen, Lushun Jiang, Jiajie Zhang, Lisheng Tao, Wei Yu and Yunqing Qiu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2023 21:72
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Somatic alterations in cancer cause dysregulation of signaling pathways that control cell-cycle progression, apoptosis, and cell growth. The effect of individual alterations in these pathways differs between i...

    Authors: Ines Simeone and Michele Ceccarelli
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2023 21:55
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a malignant disease characterized by onset occult, rapid progression, high relapse rate, and high mortality. However, data on how the tumor microenvironment (TME) regul...

    Authors: Shurui Zhou, Kege Yang, Shaojie Chen, Guoda Lian, Yuzhou Huang, Hanming Yao, Yue Zhao, Kaihong Huang, Dong Yin, Haoming Lin and Yaqing Li
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2023 21:43
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Current diagnosis tools for prostate cancer (PCa) such as serum PSA detection and prostate biopsy cannot distinguish dormant tumors from invasive malignancies, either be used as prognosis marker for castration...

    Authors: Pengyu Liu, Wenxuan Wang, Fei Wang, Jiaqi Fan, Jinan Guo, Tao Wu, Dongliang Lu, Qingchun Zhou, Zhuohao Liu, Yuliang Wang, Zhiqun Shang, Franky Leung Chan, Wei Yang, Xin Li, Shan-Chao Zhao, Qingyou Zheng…
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2023 21:40
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. The contribution of common genetic variants to pre-cancer progression is understudied due to long follow-up time, rarity of poor outcomes and lack of available germline DNA collection. Alternatively, DNA from ...

    Authors: Daniela Nachmanson, Meghana Pagadala, Joseph Steward, Callie Cheung, Lauryn Keeler Bruce, Nicole Q. Lee, Thomas J. O’Keefe, Grace Y. Lin, Farnaz Hasteh, Gerald P. Morris, Hannah Carter and Olivier Harismendy
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:623
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. Immune checkpoint blockades (ICBs) have emerged as a promising treatment for cancer. Recently, tumour mutational burden (TMB) and neoantigen load (NAL) have been proposed to be potential biomarkers to predict ...

    Authors: Jiayue Qiu, Xiangmei Li, Yalan He, Qian Wang, Ji Li, Jiashuo Wu, Ying Jiang and Junwei Han
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:613
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. Low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC) is a rare disease that occurs more frequently in younger women than those with high-grade disease. The current treatment is suboptimal and a better understanding of the ...

    Authors: Kwong-Kwok Wong, Nicholas W. Bateman, Chun Wai Ng, Yvonne T. M. Tsang, Charlotte S. Sun, Joseph Celestino, Tri V. Nguyen, Anais Malpica, R. Tyler Hillman, Jianhua Zhang, P. Andrew Futreal, Christine Rojas, Kelly A. Conrads, Brian L. Hood, Clifton L. Dalgard, Matthew D. Wilkerson…
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:606
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. Tumor histomorphology analysis plays a crucial role in predicting the prognosis of resectable lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Computer-extracted image texture features have been previously shown to be correlated w...

    Authors: Yumeng Wang, Xipeng Pan, Huan Lin, Chu Han, Yajun An, Bingjiang Qiu, Zhengyun Feng, Xiaomei Huang, Zeyan Xu, Zhenwei Shi, Xin Chen, Bingbing Li, Lixu Yan, Cheng Lu, Zhenhui Li, Yanfen Cui…
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:595
    Content type: Research Published on:

  10. Primary liver cancer (PLC) is a common gastrointestinal malignancy worldwide. While hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) are two major pathologic types of PLC, combined HCC ...

    Authors: Ru-Chen Xu, Fu Wang, Jia-Lei Sun, Weinire Abuduwaili, Guang-Cong Zhang, Zhi-Yong Liu, Tao-Tao Liu, Ling Dong, Xi-Zhong Shen and Ji-Min Zhu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:579
    Content type: Research Published on:

  11. Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare and incurable indolent B-cell malignancy. The molecular pathogenesis and the role of immunosuppressive microenvironment in WM development are still incompletely und...

    Authors: Hao Sun, Teng Fang, Tingyu Wang, Zhen Yu, Lixin Gong, Xiaojing Wei, Huijun Wang, Yi He, Lanting Liu, Yuting Yan, Weiwei Sui, Yan Xu, Shuhua Yi, Lugui Qiu and Mu Hao
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:576
    Content type: Research Published on:

  12. Little is known on the tumor microenvironment (TME) response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in gastric cancer on the molecular level.

    Authors: Yingtai Chen, Jianhua Yin, Lulu Zhao, Guangyu Zhou, Shichen Dong, Yueming Zhang, Penghui Niu, Hu Ren, Tianjiao Zheng, Juan Yan, Wenbin Li, Peiqin Ma, Cuijuan Zhang, Chen Wei, George Church, Guibo Li…
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:563
    Content type: Research Published on:

  13. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), one of the major components of the tumor stroma, contribute to an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) through the induction and functional polarization of protu...

    Authors: Katayoon Pakravan, Majid Mossahebi-Mohammadi, Mohammad H. Ghazimoradi, William C. Cho, Majid Sadeghizadeh and Sadegh Babashah
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:559
    Content type: Research Published on:

  14. Clear cell renal cell cancer (ccRCC) is accompanied by T-cell infiltration. In this study, we sought to determine the difference in T-cell infiltration and the T-cell receptor (TCR) immune repertoire between c...

    Authors: Wei Zhang, Qian Zhang, Chao Zhu, Zhiyuan Shi, Chen Shao, Yujie Chen, Nan Wang, Yanxia Jiang, Qing Liang and Kejia Wang
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:558
    Content type: Research Published on:

  15. In recent years, the biological role of changes in physical factors in carcinogenesis and progression has attracted increasing attention. Matrix stiffness, also known as ECM stress, is a critical physical fact...

    Authors: Boer Deng, Ziyi Zhao, Weimin Kong, Chao Han, Xiaochang Shen and Chunxiao Zhou
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:540
    Content type: Review Published on:

  16. The role of the inflammatory milieu in prostate cancer progression is not well understood. Differences in inflammatory signaling between localized and metastatic disease may point to opportunities for early in...

    Authors: Ida Deichaite, Timothy J. Sears, Leisa Sutton, Daniel Rebibo, Kylie Morgan, Tyler Nelson, Brent Rose, Pablo Tamayo, Napoleone Ferrara, Fotis Asimakopoulos and Hannah Carter
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:527
    Content type: Research Published on:

  17. Cellular compositions of solid tumor microenvironments are heterogeneous, varying across patients and tumor types. High-resolution profiling of the tumor microenvironment cell composition is crucial to underst...

    Authors: Ze Zhang, John K. Wiencke, Karl T. Kelsey, Devin C. Koestler, Brock C. Christensen and Lucas A. Salas
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:516
    Content type: Methodology Published on:

  18. The metastatic mechanisms of axillary lymph nodes (ALNs) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remain unclear. We aimed to identify the potential circRNA regulatory network in ALN metastasis.

    Authors: Jiayue Luo, Dong Cao, Chuwen Hu, Zhen Liang, Yuanping Zhang and Jianguo Lai
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:508
    Content type: Research Published on:

    The Correction to this article has been published in Journal of Translational Medicine 2023 21:181

  19. Small peptides encoded by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have attracted attention for their various functions. Recent studies indicate that these small peptides participate in immune responses and antigen pres...

    Authors: Wenbo Zhao, Yibo Wu, Feihu Zhao, Zhiyi Xue, Wenyu Liu, Zenxin Cao, Zhimin Zhao, Bin Huang, Mingzhi Han and Xingang Li
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:494
    Content type: Research Published on:

  20. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) related long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) may have prognostic value in bladder cancer for their key role in tumorigenesis and innate immunity.

    Authors: Zi-Hao Feng, Yan-Ping Liang, Jun-Jie Cen, Hao-Hua Yao, Hai-Shan Lin, Jia-Ying Li, Hui Liang, Zhu Wang, Qiong Deng, Jia-Zheng Cao, Yong Huang, Jin-Huan Wei, Jun-Hang Luo, Wei Chen and Zhen-Hua Chen
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:492
    Content type: Research Published on:

  21. Ferroptosis is a new form of programmed cell death, which achieved great breakthroughs in cell biology during past decade. However, the regulation of ferroptosis is yet to be identified thoroughly. The latest ...

    Authors: Guixing Kuang, Weidong Wang, Dan Xiong and Chong Zeng
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:474
    Content type: Commentary Published on:

  22. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and metastatic disease is associated with a significant survival rate drop. There is an urgent need for consistent tumor biomarkers to scale precision medicine and...

    Authors: Claudia Sabato, Teresa Maria Rosaria Noviello, Alessia Covre, Sandra Coral, Francesca Pia Caruso, Zein Mersini Besharat, Elena Splendiani, Laura Masuelli, Cecilia Battistelli, Alessandra Vacca, Giuseppina Catanzaro, Agnese Po, Andrea Anichini, Michele Maio, Michele Ceccarelli, Anna Maria Di Giacomo…
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:469
    Content type: Research Published on:

  23. Liver carcinoma generally presents as an immunosuppressive microenvironment that promotes tumor evasion. The intercellular crosstalk of immune cells significantly influences the construction of an immunosuppre...

    Authors: Zhuomao Mo, Daiyuan Liu, Yihan Chen, Jin Luo, Wenjing Li, Jiahui Liu, Ling Yu, Bijun Huang and Shijun Zhang
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:466
    Content type: Research Published on:

  24. Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are heterogeneous and pro-metastatic tumors. Identification of accurate prognostic factors and novel therapeutic targets are crucial. CSPG4 is a cell surface proteoglycan with oncoge...

    Authors: Laurys Boudin, A de Nonneville, Pascal Finetti, Léna Mescam, A Le Cesne, Antoine Italiano, Jean-Yves Blay, Daniel Birnbaum, Emilie Mamessier and François Bertucci
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:464
    Content type: Research Published on:

  25. Single-cell transcription data provided unprecedented molecular information, enabling us to directly encode the ecosystem of colorectal cancer (CRC). Characterization of the diversity of epithelial cells and h...

    Authors: Rongfang Shen, Ping Li, Botao Zhang, Lin Feng and Shujun Cheng
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:462
    Content type: Research Published on:

  26. Liver metastases are a major contributor to the poor immunotherapy response in colorectal cancer patients. However, the distinctions in the immune microenvironment between primary tumors and liver metastases a...

    Authors: Yangsong He, Yanan Han, A-hui Fan, Danxiu Li, Boda Wang, Kun Ji, Xin Wang, Xiaodi Zhao and Yuanyuan Lu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:454
    Content type: Research Published on:

  27. We proposed an artificial intelligence-based immune index, Deep-immune score, quantifying the infiltration of immune cells interacting with the tumor stroma in hematoxylin and eosin-stained whole-slide images ...

    Authors: Jing Yang, Huifen Ye, Xinjuan Fan, Yajun Li, Xiaomei Wu, Minning Zhao, Qingru Hu, Yunrui Ye, Lin Wu, Zhenhui Li, Xueli Zhang, Changhong Liang, Yingyi Wang, Yao Xu, Qian Li, Su Yao…
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:451
    Content type: Research Published on:

  28. Advances in our understanding of the tumor microenvironment have radically changed the cancer field, highlighting the emerging need for biomarkers of an active, favorable tumor immune phenotype to aid treatmen...

    Authors: Shimaa Sherif, Raghvendra Mall, Hossam Almeer, Adviti Naik, Abdulaziz Al Homaid, Remy Thomas, Jessica Roelands, Sathiya Narayanan, Mahmoud Gasim Mohamed, Shahinaz Bedri, Salha Bujassoum Al-Bader, Kulsoom Junejo, Davide Bedognetti, Wouter Hendrickx and Julie Decock
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:442
    Content type: Research Published on:

  29. The diversity of histologic composition reflects the inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity of lung adenocarcinomas (LUADs) macroscopically. Insights into the oncological characteristics and tumor microenvironme...

    Authors: Dianke Li, Huansha Yu, Junjie Hu, Shaoling Li, Yilv Yan, Shuangyi Li, Liangdong Sun, Gening Jiang, Likun Hou, Lele Zhang and Peng Zhang
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:423
    Content type: Research Published on:

  30. Bowen's disease is a cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) in situ. If left untreated, BD may progress to invasive CSCC. CSCC is one of the most common cutaneous carcinoma in the elderly and the advanced, m...

    Authors: Tang Biao, He Cai-feng, Lu Xiao-hong, Chang Xiao-li, Liu Wen-bei, Wang Jun, Ci Chao and Yuan Tao
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:416
    Content type: Research Published on:

  32. The traditional prostate cancer (PCa) model is established by injecting cell suspension and is associated with a low tumor formation rate. Cell sheet technology is one of the advancements in tissue engineering...

    Authors: Dongliang Zhang, Ying Wang, Lei Liu, Zeng Li, Shengke Yang, Weixin Zhao, Xiang Wang, Hong Liao and Shukui Zhou
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:381
    Content type: Research Published on:

  33. Recently, extensive cancer genomic studies have revealed mutational and clinical data of large cohorts of cancer patients. For example, the Pan-Lung Cancer 2016 dataset (part of The Cancer Genome Atlas project...

    Authors: Karen Y. Oróstica, Juan Saez-Hidalgo, Pamela R. de Santiago, Solange Rivas, Sebastian Contreras, Gonzalo Navarro, Juan A. Asenjo, Álvaro Olivera-Nappa and Ricardo Armisén
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:373
    Content type: Research Published on:

  34. Glioma is the most common cancer in the central nervous system, and low grade gliomas are notorious for many types of tumors and heterogeneity. PROS1 not only plays an important role in the blood coagulation syst...

    Authors: Yujie Zhou, Dongdong Xiao and Xiaobing Jiang
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:335
    Content type: Research Published on:

  35. A piglet model for peritoneal metastasis (PM) of ovarian cancer was developed. It will contribute to establishing innovative chemotherapeutical and surgical strategies without any limitation on rodent models.

    Authors: Eun Ji Lee, Soo Jin Park, Aeran Seol, Hyunji Lim, Sumin Park, Ji Yeon Ahn, Jeong Mook Lim and Hee Seung Kim
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:329
    Content type: Research Published on:

  36. Necroptosis plays a major role in breast cancer (BC) progression and metastasis. Besides, necroptosis also regulates inflammatory response and tumor microenvironment. Here, we aim to explore the predictive sig...

    Authors: Honghao Yu, Wenchang Lv, Yufang Tan, Xiao He, Yiping Wu, Min Wu and Qi Zhang
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:328
    Content type: Research Published on:

  37. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) can disrupt the tight junctions between gastric epithelial cells and penetrate the intercellular spaces acting on epithelial cells, normal fibroblasts (NFs), and cancer-associated ...

    Authors: Xueshu Chen, Wei Chen, Yan Zhao, Qinrong Wang, Wenling Wang, Yining Xiang, Hang Yuan, Yuan Xie and Jianjiang Zhou
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:322
    Content type: Research Published on:

  38. As an important component of the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), it has been established that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) promote the progression of tumor cells. MSCs can directly promote the...

    Authors: Zhenghou Zhang, Xiangyu Zhou, Jinshuai Guo, Fusheng Zhang, Yiping Qian, Guang Wang, Meiqi Duan, Yutian Wang, Haiying Zhao, Zhi Yang, Zunpeng Liu and Xiaofeng Jiang
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:320
    Content type: Review Published on:

  39. The tumor-promoting role of tumor microenvironment (TME) in colorectal cancer has been widely investigated in cancer biology. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), as the main stromal component in TME, play an...

    Authors: Zhiwei Peng, Manping Ye, Huiming Ding, Zhenyou Feng and Kongwang Hu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:302
    Content type: Research Published on:

  40. After the success of immunotherapy in the treatment of advanced metastatic cancer, further evaluation in earlier settings, including high-risk, surgically-resectable disease is underway. Potential benefits of ...

    Authors: Elizabeth M. Burton, Rodabe N. Amaria, Tina Cascone, Myriam Chalabi, Neil D. Gross, Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, Richard A. Scolyer, Padmanee Sharma and Paolo A. Ascierto
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:271
    Content type: Meeting report Published on:

  41. Gastric cancer is a common type of gastrointestinal malignant tumor in China. The mechanism of the development and progression of gastric cancer remains the continuing research focus. The tumor microenvironmen...

    Authors: Weihua Yu, Guojun Chen, Jiafei Yan, Xianfa Wang, Yiping Zhu and Linghua Zhu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:250
    Content type: Research Published on:

  42. Necroptosis is a new form of programmed cell death that is associated with cancer initiation, progression, immunity, and chemoresistance. However, the roles of necroptosis-related genes (NRGs) in colorectal ca...

    Authors: Wenqin Luo, Wenqiang Xiang, Lu Gan, Ji Che, Jing Li, Yichao Wang, Lingyu Han, Ruiqi Gu, Li Ye, Renjie Wang, Xiuping Zhang, Ye Xu, Weixing Dai, Shaobo Mo, Qingguo Li and Guoxiang Cai
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:235
    Content type: Research Published on:

  43. Little is known about SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion in asymptomatic patients affected by solid cancer, and whether it is associated with specific transcriptomics changes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).

    Authors: Francesco Ravera, Roberto Borea, Gabriella Cirmena, Martina Dameri, Lorenzo Ferrando, Maurizio Gallo, Cecilia Casini, Neri Fallani, Mario Stabile, Valentina Barbero, Roberto Murialdo, Lucia Tixi, Margherita Cappuccio, Andrea Cuboni, Irene Sivieri, Giuseppe Fornarini…
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:230
    Content type: Research Published on:

  45. Colorectal cancer is a commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. Unfortunately, many patients do not respond to standard chemotherapy treatments and develop disease relapse and metastases. Besides cancer cell speci...

    Authors: Simona Salerno, Anders Ståhlberg, André Holdfeldt, Elinor Bexe Lindskog and Göran Landberg
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:209
    Content type: Research Published on:

  46. The establishing of the first cancer models created a new perspective on the identification and evaluation of new anti-cancer therapies in preclinical studies. Patient-derived xenograft models are created by t...

    Authors: Shahrokh Abdolahi, Zeinab Ghazvinian, Samad Muhammadnejad, Mahshid Saleh, Hamid Asadzadeh Aghdaei and Kaveh Baghaei
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:206
    Content type: Review Published on:

  47. As a common complication of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), malignant ascites contributes to the peritoneal metastasis of EOC. CircRNAs play essential roles in tumor metastasis. However, no circRNAs have been...

    Authors: Ning Luo, Zubaidan Sulaiman, Chunyan Wang, Jinye Ding, Yingying Chen, Biting Liu, Zhongping Cheng and Shupeng Liu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:201
    Content type: Research Published on:

  48. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation plays a critical role in key genetic events for various cancers; yet, how m6A functions within the tumor microenvironment (TME) remains to be elucidated.

    Authors: Yuzhen Gao, Hao Wang, Shipeng Chen, Rui An, Yadong Chu, Guoli Li, Yanzhong Wang, Xinyou Xie and Jun Zhang
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2022 20:197
    Content type: Research Published on:
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