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The Tumor Microenvironment

The Tumor Microenvironment

Every normal cell or tissue is embedded in a complex local environment called stroma, consisting of different cell types, a basal membrane, and blood vessels. As normal cells mutate and develop into cancer cells, their local environment also changes to allow cancer progression. The tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of a complex cellular matrix of stromal cells and the developing tumor. The cross-talk between cancer cells and surrounding stromal cells is critical to disrupt normal tissue...

Tumor Immunotherapy

Tumor Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a treatment that boosts or manipulates the immune system to fight diseases, including cancer. For instance, by stimulating an immune response through vaccinations against viruses that cause cancers, like hepatitis B virus and human papillomavirus, these diseases can be prevented. Nonetheless, some cancer cells can avoid the immune system due to their rapid mutation and division. The immune response to many cancers involves three phases: elimination, equilibrium, and escape.

Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response

Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response

Cytotoxic T cells are a vital component of the immune system. They have the remarkable ability to identify and target antigens on infected or abnormal cells. These antigens often originate from intracellular pathogens such as viruses or abnormal proteins cancer cells produce.
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 27, 2025

Enrichment and Characterization of the Tumor Immune and Non-immune Microenvironments in Established Subcutaneous Murine Tumors

Enrichment and Characterization of the Tumor Immune and Non-immune Microenvironments in Established Subcutaneous Murine Tumors

Published on: June 7, 2018

Understanding the tumor microenvironment for effective immunotherapy.

Habib Sadeghi Rad¹, James Monkman^2,3, Majid E Warkiani^4,5

¹School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Medicinal Research Reviews

|December 5, 2020

Summary

Understanding the tumor microenvironment (TME) and its immune cells is key to improving immunotherapy for solid tumors. This review explores immune contexture and its therapeutic potential in cancer progression.

Keywords:

biomarkers immune checkpoint inhibitors immune contexture immunotherapy tumor microenvironment

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Enrichment and Characterization of the Tumor Immune and Non-immune Microenvironments in Established Subcutaneous Murine Tumors

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Analysis of Human T Cell Activity in an Allogeneic Co-Culture Setting of Pre-Treated Tumor Cells

Analysis of Human T Cell Activity in an Allogeneic Co-Culture Setting of Pre-Treated Tumor Cells

Published on: March 7, 2025

Area of Science:

Oncology
Immunology
Cancer Research

Background:

Immunotherapy offers durable benefits for some solid tumor patients.
The tumor microenvironment (TME) comprises diverse tumor and immune cells.
Immune cells within the TME significantly influence tumor initiation and progression.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the role of specific immune cells in the TME during tumor progression.
To explore how TME immune contexture impacts tumor growth and therapeutic strategies.
To highlight advancements in spatial characterization technologies for TME analysis.

Main Methods:

Literature review of immunotherapy and tumor microenvironment research.
Analysis of immune cell types, density, and function within the TME.
Discussion of spatial characterization technologies and their role in TME studies.

Main Results:

Specific immune cells play critical roles in tumor progression within the TME.
The immune contexture of the TME can be leveraged to predict treatment outcomes.
Advancements in spatial technologies enable detailed characterization of the TME.

Conclusions:

A deeper understanding of tumor immunity and the TME is essential for developing effective immunotherapies.
Characterizing TME immune contexture can identify biomarkers for treatment response.
Therapeutic strategies can be refined by understanding immune cell roles in cancer progression.