Abstract
Gastric cancer (GC) represents the fifth most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide, with a poor prognosis in patients with advanced disease despite many improvements in systemic treatments in the last decade. In fact, GC has shown resistance to several treatment options, and thus, notable efforts have been focused on the research and identification of novel therapeutic targets in this setting. The tumor microenvironment (TME) has emerged as a potential therapeutic target in several malignancies including GC, due to its pivotal role in cancer progression and drug resistance. Therefore, several agents and therapeutic strategies targeting the TME are currently under assessment in both preclinical and clinical studies. The present study provides an overview of available evidence of the inflammatory TME in GC, highlighting different types of tumor-associated cells and implications for future therapeutic strategies.
Highlights
Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most diagnosed malignancy worldwide and represents the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide [1], despite differences in incidence and mortality among East Asia, Eastern Europe, and South America [2]
Unresolved inflammation derived from chronic infection with Helicobacter Pylori (HP) is one of the hallmarks of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in GC, which is enriched in myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), regulatory T cells (Tregs), and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) [43]
The results showed that GC patients with CD3, CD4, and CD45RO Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) had prolonged survival, suggesting that TIL density could represent a predictor of regional lymph node involvement and survival in these patients
Summary
Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most diagnosed malignancy worldwide and represents the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide [1], despite differences in incidence and mortality among East Asia, Eastern Europe, and South America [2]. There is emerging evidence of several cell types involved in the GC inflammatory microenvironment, including macrophages, lymphocytes, fibroblasts, and myeloid-derived suppressor cells [14,15], as well as their products (cytokines), which may promote tumor development at the initiation, progression, and metastasis phases [14,16]. In this scenario, the presence of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) is attracting attention because of its promising role in predicting prognosis and drug resistance. TME in GC, focusing on the different types of tumor-associated cells and implications for future therapeutic strategies
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