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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.

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  1. The immunosuppressive nature of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and the existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) present significant hurdles in tumor therapy. The identification of therapeutic agents that can ta...

    Authors: Ying Chen, Qiaoming Li, Zixiang Wang, Ling V. Sun and Steven X. Hou
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2025 23:561
  2. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and subsequent functional interpretation have been used to identify susceptible genes and potential drug-repositioning candidates. This study aimed to identify genes asso...

    Authors: Dabin Yun, Jung-Ho Yang, Jin-ah Sim, Minjung Kim, Ji Won Park, Seung Yong Jeong, Aesun Shin, Sun-Seog Kweon and Nan Song
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2025 23:543
  3. Diverse cell types and cellular states in the tumor microenvironment (TME) are drivers of biological and therapeutic heterogeneity in ovarian cancer (OV). Characterization of the diverse malignant and immunolo...

    Authors: Can Zhang, Si Li, Jiyu Guo, Tao Pan, Ya Zhang, Yueying Gao, Jiwei Pan, Meng Liu, Qingyi Yang, Jinyang Yu, Juan Xu, Yongsheng Li and Xia Li
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2025 23:519
  4. Patients with stage II colorectal cancer (CRC) show considerable variability in prognosis. Circulating immune cells play a vital role in systemic tumor surveillance. This study aimed to determine the clinical ...

    Authors: Pin Gao, Chuanyong Zhou, Hong Yang, Shunyu Deng, Beihai Jiang, Zaozao Wang, Jiabo Di and Xiangqian Su
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2025 23:496
  5. The liver is the most commonly metastasized organ in colorectal cancer (CRC), and distant metastasis is the primary cause of mortality from CRC. In recent years, researchers have discovered that tumor cells cr...

    Authors: Yaqin Li, Hong Wang, Dengxuan Mao, Xiaoyu Che, Yan Chen and Yuping Liu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2025 23:340
  6. Metastasis is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths, with the liver being the most frequent site of metastasis in colorectal cancer. Previous studies have predominantly focused on the influence of the prima...

    Authors: Yue Jiang, Guojie Long, Xiaoming Huang, Wenyu Wang, Bing Cheng and Weidong Pan
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2025 23:336
  7. SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses rely on the protease function of the TMPRSS2 protein to invade host cells. Despite cancer patients often experience poorer outcomes following SARS-CoV-2 infection, the role of TMPR...

    Authors: Karthikeyan Subbarayan, Helena Bieber, Chiara Massa, Felipe Adonis Escalona Rodríguez, SM Al Amin Hossain, Lisa Neuder, Wafa Wahbi, Tuula Salo, Sandy Tretbar, Ahmed Al-Samadi and Barbara Seliger
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2025 23:294
  8. Patients with adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) and minimally invasive (MIA) lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) are curable by surgery, whereas 20% stage I patients die within five years after surgery. We hypothesize that ...

    Authors: Jun Shang, He Jiang, Yue Zhao, Jingcheng Yang, Yicong Lin, Naixin Zhang, Luyao Ren, Qingwang Chen, Ying Yu, Leming Shi, Yuan Li, Haiquan Chen and Yuanting Zheng
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2025 23:263
  9. Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and aggressive malignancy with limited therapeutic options. To improve patients management and treatment, more precise stratification strategies are needed. This ...

    Authors: Federica Torricelli, Filomena Spada, Cynthia Bishop, Katrina Todd, Daisuke Nonaka, Nedyalko Petrov, Manuela Terranova Barberio, Alan G. Ramsay, Richard Ellis, Alessia Ciarrocchi, Benedetta Apollonio and Andrea Billè
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2025 23:208
  10. The progression of bladder cancer (BC) from non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) to muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) significantly increases disease severity. Although the tumor microenvironment (TM...

    Authors: Jianpeng Li, Yunzhong Jiang, Minghai Ma, Lu Wang, Minxuan Jing, Zezhong Yang, Mengzhao Zhang, Ke Chen and Jinhai Fan
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2025 23:135
  11. Tumor microenvironment (TME), particularly immune cell infiltration, programmed cell death (PCD) and stress, has increasingly become a focal point in colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment. Uncovering the intricate...

    Authors: Hao Liu, Chuhan Zhang, Sanfei Peng, Yuhan Yin, Yishi Xu, Sihan Wu, Liping Wang and Yang Fu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2025 23:127
  12. Growing evidence implicates that intratumoral microbiota are closely linked to cancer progression; however, research on the role of these microbiota in the development of gastric cancer remains limited. Here, ...

    Authors: Ping Yang, Gaoli Liang, Yangyue Ni, Xiaojie Chu, Xiaoshan Zhang, Zhongyu Wang, Adeel Khan, Fangfang Jin, Han Shen, Miao Li and Zhipeng Xu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2025 23:126
  13. The colon and rectum are highly innervated, with neural components within the tumor microenvironment playing a significant role in colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. While perineural invasion (PNI) is associ...

    Authors: Hao Wang, Ruixue Huo, Kexin He, Weihan Li, Yuan Gao, Wei He, Minhao Yu, Shu-Heng Jiang and Junli Xue
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2025 23:112
  14. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with an increasing shift towards younger age of onset. In recent years, there ...

    Authors: Bo Zhang, Yanru Pan, Zhe Li and Kefeng Hu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2025 23:51
  15. Recent research indicates a role of gut microbiota in development and progression of life-threatening diseases such as cancer. Carcinomas of the biliary ducts, the so-called cholangiocarcinomas, are known for ...

    Authors: Ann-Kathrin Lederer, Nele Görrissen, Tinh Thi Nguyen, Clemens Kreutz, Hannah Rasel, Fabian Bartsch, Hauke Lang and Kristina Endres
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2025 23:34
  16. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is characterized by poor responsiveness to immune evasion and immunotherapy. RNA 7-methylguanine (m7G) modification plays a key role in tumorigenesis. However, the mechanisms by which m...

    Authors: Fang Wang, Chen Yang, Fang Zheng, Yang Yan, Guifang Li, Yanyan Feng, Hejia Xu, Zilong He, Dongyan Cai, Hairong Sun, Xiaowei Qi and Yong Mao
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:1161
  17. Tumor Budding (TB) and Immunoscore are independent prognostic markers in colon cancer (CC). Given their respective representation of tumor aggressiveness and immune response, we examined their combination in a...

    Authors: T. S. Haddad, J. M. Bokhorst, M. D. Berger, L. v. d. Dobbelsteen, F. Simmer, F. Ciompi, J. Galon, J. v. d. Laak, F. Pagès, I. Zlobec, A. Lugli and I. D. Nagtegaal
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:1090
  18. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a malignant neoplasm with detrimental implications for human health. The landscape of ESCC therapy has been revolutionized by the introduction of immunotherapy, spe...

    Authors: Meng Yang, Dan He, Yu Sun, Yunquan Guo, Yu Ma, Lin Feng and Meng Liu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:1069
  19. While high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) has proven largely resistant to immunotherapy, sporadic incidents of partial and complete response have been observed in clinical trials and case reports. These ob...

    Authors: Laurel K. Berry, Ashok K. Pullikuth, Kristen L. Stearns, Yuezhu Wang, Calvin J. Wagner, Jeff W. Chou, Janelle P. Darby, Michael G. Kelly, Raghvendra Mall, Ming Leung, Julia Chifman and Lance D. Miller
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:1048
  20. Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a malignant tumor with a poor prognosis, predominantly CA19-9 positive. High CA19-9 levels correlate with increased aggressiveness and worse outcomes. This study employ...

    Authors: Delin Ma, Pengcheng Wei, Hengkang Liu, Jialing Hao, Zhuomiaoyu Chen, Yingming Chu, Zuyin Li, Wenzai Shi, Zhigao Yuan, Qian Cheng, Jie Gao, Jiye Zhu and Zhao Li
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:1031
  21. Pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNET) are among the most common intracranial tumors. Despite a frequent benign course, aggressive behavior can occur. Tumor behavior is known to be under the influence of the...

    Authors: T. Elise Potthoff, Carolin Walter, Daniela Jeising, Daniel Münter, Archana Verma, Eric Suero Molina, Walter Stummer, Martin Dugas, Wolfgang Hartmann, Matthias Dottermusch, Lea Altendorf, Ulrich Schüller, Sophia Scheuermann, Christian Seitz, Thomas K. Albert and Kornelius Kerl
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:1027
  22. Bladder cancer (BC) is a prevalent malignancy characterized by significant cellular heterogeneity. While single-cell multi-omics studies have provided valuable insights, much of the existing data remains under...

    Authors: Yang Li, Pengjie Shi, Yuhong Ding, Zhipeng Yao, Lilong Liu, Junyi Hu, Zhenghao Liu, Jinxu Li, Ke Chen and Yaxin Hou
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:1010
  23. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have emerged as a novel and effective treatment strategy, yet their effectiveness is limited to a subset of patients. The gut microbiota, recognized as a promising anticance...

    Authors: Benlin Wang, Wentai Shangguan, Weijia Li, Ming Xie, Yao Yu, Qishen Yang, Qi Sun, Jingwen Xue, Zhangrui Zhu, Yuexuan Zhu and Peng Wu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:964
  24. Brain metastasis (BM) is a rare but severe complication of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), with limited knowledge of molecular characteristics and immunogenicity.

    Authors: Michael J. Dennis, Dean C. Pavlick, Alec Kacew, Michael Wotman, Laura E. MacConaill, Stephanie M. Jones, Kathleen L. Pfaff, Scott J. Rodig, Stephen Eacker, Maika Malig, Emily Reister, David Piccioni, Santosh Kesari, Kartik Sehgal, Robert I. Haddad, Ezra Cohen…
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:960
  25. Tumour invading muscle in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is often associated with destructive growth and poor prognosis. However, the phenotypic functions and pathological mechanisms of muscle-i...

    Authors: Guozhong Zeng, Yi Shen, Wei Sun, Huanzi Lu, Yujie Liang, Jiashun Wu and Guiqing Liao
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:909
  26. Arginase is abundantly expressed in colorectal cancer and disrupts arginine metabolism, promoting the formation of an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. This significant factor contributes to the insens...

    Authors: Jun Wang, Shenghe Deng, Denglong Cheng, Junnan Gu, Le Qin, Fuwei Mao, Yifan Xue, Zhenxin Jiang, Mian Chen, Falong Zou, Ning Huang, Yinghao Cao and Kailin Cai
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:908
  27. Risk stratification and treatment benefit prediction models are urgent to improve negative sentinel lymph node (SLN-) melanoma patient selection, thus avoiding costly and toxic treatments in patients at low ri...

    Authors: Maria Colomba Comes, Livia Fucci, Sabino Strippoli, Samantha Bove, Gerardo Cazzato, Carmen Colangiuli, Ivana De Risi, Ileana De Roma, Annarita Fanizzi, Fabio Mele, Maurizio Ressa, Concetta Saponaro, Clara Soranno, Rosita Tinelli, Michele Guida, Alfredo Zito…
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:838
  28. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are the major factor in gastric cancer (GC) immune evasion. Nevertheless, the molecular process underlying the expansion of MDSCs induced by tumor-derived exosomes (TDE...

    Authors: Huaizhi Li, Xu Chen, Shanshan Zheng, Bo Han, Xiang Zhang, Xiaoxia Zheng, Yujia Lu, Qingmin Sun, Xufeng Hu and Jian Wu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:821
  29. At present, immunotherapy has become a powerful treatment for advanced gastric cancer (AGC), but not all patients can benefit from it. According to the latest research, the impact of B cell subpopulations on t...

    Authors: Xing Cai, Jinru Yang, Yusheng Guo, Yanchao Yu, Chuansheng Zheng and Xiaofang Dai
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:807
  30. Colorectal cancer is the third most common tumour entity in the world and up to 50% of the patients develop liver metastases (CRLM) within five years. To improve and personalize therapeutic strategies, new dia...

    Authors: Lisa-Marie Skrip, Simon Moosburner, Peter Tang, Jing Guo, Steffen Görner, Heiko Tzschätzsch, Kristin Brüggemann, Kilian Alexander Walter, Clarissa Hosse, Uli Fehrenbach, Alexander Arnold, Dominik Modest, Felix Krenzien, Wenzel Schöning, Thomas Malinka, Johann Pratschke…
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:774
  31. ERAP2 is an aminopeptidase involved in antigen processing and presentation, and harbor genetic variants linked to several inflammatory diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The lack of an ERAP2 ge...

    Authors: Siri Sæterstad, Ann Elisabeth Østvik, Marianne Doré Hansen, Torunn Bruland and Atle van Beelen Granlund
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:750

    The Correction to this article has been published in Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:849

  32. Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) play an important role in initiation and progression of aggressive cancers, including esophageal cancer. Natural killer (NK) cells are key effector lymphocytes of innate immunity ...

    Authors: Bo Tang, Mengxing Guo, Yujia Zhai, Kai Zhang, Kaiyuan Ni, Yi Zhang and Lan Huang
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:737
  33. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been implicated in the development and progression of gastric cancer (GC). However, it remains unclear whether dysregulated circRNA affects immune escape and the efficacy of immun...

    Authors: Yanna Li, Zhixiong Wang, Peng Gao, Danping Cao, Runyu Dong, Menglin Zhu, Yao Fei, Xueliang Zuo and Juan Cai
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:704
  34. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a prevalent malignancy with complex heterogeneity within epithelial cells, which plays a crucial role in tumor progression and immune regulation. Yet, the clinical im...

    Authors: Songyang Liu, Ge Li, Xiaomao Yin, Yihan Zhou, Dongmei Luo, Zhenggang Yang, Jin Zhang and Jianfeng Wang
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:607
  35. Uveal melanoma (UM), the most common adult intraocular tumor, is characterized by high malignancy and poor prognosis in advanced stages. Angiogenesis is critical for UM development, however, not only the role ...

    Authors: Liang Ma, Xiaoyu He, Yidian Fu, Shengfang Ge and Zhi Yang
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:605
  36. Gamma delta (γδ) T cells demonstrate strong cytotoxicity against diverse cancer cell types in an MHC-independent manner, rendering them promising contenders for cancer therapy. Although amplification and adopt...

    Authors: Jian Liu, Min Wu, Yifan Yang, Zixuan Wang, Shan He, Xun Tian and Hui Wang
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:553
  37. Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly heterogeneous, recurrent and aggressively invasive primary malignant brain tumor. The heterogeneity of GBM results in poor targeted therapy. Therefore, the aim of this study is t...

    Authors: Liping Wang, Xinyi Li, Chengshi Xu, Danwen Wang, Chao Ma, Zefen Wang, Yirong Li and Zhiqiang Li
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:551
  38. Recently, research on the human microbiome, especially concerning the bacteria within the digestive system, has substantially advanced. This exploration has unveiled a complex interplay between microbiota and ...

    Authors: Weiqin Lu, Aihemaitijiang Aihaiti, Paziliya Abudukeranmu, Yajun Liu and Huihui Gao
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:545
  39. Immunotherapy has brought about a paradigm shift in the treatment of cancer. However, the majority of patients exhibit resistance or become refractory to immunotherapy, and the underlying mechanisms remain to ...

    Authors: Hong Liu, Xiaoxian Sima, Bijing Xiao, Haimiti Gulizeba, Shen Zhao, Ting Zhou and Yan Huang
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:486
  40. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a malignant tumor with a poor prognosis. Traditional treatments have limited effectiveness. Regulation of the immune response represents a promising new approach for OSCC...

    Authors: Wenqiang Xie, Jinjin Lu, Yichen Chen, Xi Wang, Huanzi Lu, Qunxing Li, Nianqiang Jin, Jiankang He, Lingling Ou, Jia Ni, Yuqin Shen and Longquan Shao
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:477
  41. Vessels encapsulating tumor clusters (VETC) is a newly described vascular pattern that is distinct from microvascular invasion (MVI) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Despite its importance, the...

    Authors: Si-Ping Xiong, Chun-Hua Wang, Mei-fang Zhang, Xia Yang, Jing-Ping Yun and Li-Li Liu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:472
  42. Lung cancer is a prevalent malignancy globally, and immunotherapy has revolutionized its treatment. However, resistance to immunotherapy remains a challenge. Abnormal cholinesterase (ChE) activity and choline ...

    Authors: Bijing Xiao, Guanjun Li, Haimiti Gulizeba, Hong Liu, Xiaoxian Sima, Ting Zhou and Yan Huang
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:442
  43. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are known to play a crucial role in the growth, migration, recurrence, and drug resistance of tumor cells, particularly in triple-negative breast can...

    Authors: Min Zhang, Fangxu Zhang, Jianfeng Wang, Qian Liang, Weibing Zhou and Jian Liu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:423
  44. Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a highly malignant neoplasm and characterized by desmoplastic matrix. The heterogeneity and crosstalk of tumor microenvironment remain incompletely understood.

    Authors: Yan-Jie Zhong, Xi-Mei Luo, Fei Liu, Zhi-Qiang He, Si-Qi Yang, Wen-Jie Ma, Jun-Ke Wang, Yu-Shi Dai, Rui-Qi Zou, Ya-Fei Hu, Tian-Run Lv, Fu-Yu Li and Hai-Jie Hu
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:422
  45. Myxoid liposarcoma (MLS) displays a distinctive tumor microenvironment and is characterized by the FUS::DDIT3 fusion oncogene, however, the precise functional contributions of these two elements remain enigmatic ...

    Authors: Parmida Ranji, Emma Jonasson, Lisa Andersson, Stefan Filges, Manuel Luna Santamaría, Christoffer Vannas, Soheila Dolatabadi, Anna Gustafsson, Ola Myklebost, Joakim Håkansson, Henrik Fagman, Göran Landberg, Pierre Åman and Anders Ståhlberg
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:389
  46. Molecular subtyping is expected to enable precise treatment. However, reliable subtyping strategies for clinical application remains defective and controversial. Given the significance of tumor immune dysfunct...

    Authors: Kun Zheng, Youlong Hai, Hongqi Chen, Yukun Zhang, Xiaoyong Hu and Kai Ni
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 22:365

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