Cancer

Tumor Microenvironment

2019 John A. Catanzaro

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is influenced by the 10 main characteristics of cancer, also known as the Hallmarks. Initiation, progression and metastasis are the main components of tumorigenesis in this Hallmark scheme.

There are 10 major characteristics of cancer universally recognized; unlimited multiplication, evasion from growth suppressors, promoting invasion and metastasis, resisting apoptosis, stimulating angiogenesis, maintaining proliferative signaling, elimination of cell energy limitation, evading immune destruction, genome instability and mutation, and tumor enhanced inflammation.

Recent discoveries in immune system research reveal the crucial issue that immune-inflammatory cells may be the early cradle of cancer.

Cancer immunoediting is crucial in surveillance and regulation of immune-inflammatory cells. This process can be divided in three steps elimination, equilibrium and escape and three stages can also be used to express the role of the immune system in cancer initiation, progression, and invasion.

Immunoediting is initiated by active factors and immune cells of eliminated cancer cells. Hallmark analysis and immunoediting mapping are the core of immunocentric innovations.

J Cancer. 2017; 8(5): 761 — 773.