Applications of the Tumor Microenvironment in Breast Cancer Treatment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62051/nmjz3279Keywords:
Tumor microenvironment; immunotherapy; breast cancer; targeted therapy.Abstract
Research on the tumor microenvironment (TME) in breast cancer (BC) has witnessed substantial advancements in recent decades, with a growing emphasis on elucidating its key cellular and molecular components as well as their dual roles in either promoting or suppressing tumor progression. These investigations have laid the foundation for innovative therapeutic strategies targeting TME dynamics. Clinically, the heterogeneity of TME has already been exploited for diagnostic purposes, while an expanding array of immunotherapies and molecularly targeted agents are being incorporated into treatment regimens for specific BC subtypes. This review systematically examines the structural and functional complexity of TME, while providing a comprehensive synthesis of its current applications in BC immunotherapy and precision medicine. These discussions are anticipated to offer novel conceptual frameworks for future research, potentially guiding the development of next-generation treatments that exploit the tumor-modulating properties of TME components through more sophisticated mechanistic approaches.
Downloads
References
[1] Wilkinson L, Gathani T. Understanding breast cancer as a global health concern. The British Journal of Radiology, 2022, 95 (1130): 20211033. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1259/bjr.20211033
[2] Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, et al. Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 2021, 71 (3): 209-249. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21660
[3] Karim AM, Eun Kwon J, Ali T, et al. Triple-negative breast cancer: epidemiology, molecular mechanisms, and modern vaccine-based treatment strategies. Biochemical Pharmacology, 2023, 212: 115545. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2023.115545
[4] Perou CM, Sørlie T, Eisen MB, et al. Molecular portraits of human breast tumours. Nature, 2000, 406 (6797): 747-752. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35021093
[5] Hanahan D, Coussens LM. Accessories to the crime: functions of cells recruited to the tumor microenvironment. Cancer Cell, 2012, 21 (3): 309-322. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccr.2012.02.022
[6] Swanton C, Bernard E, Abbosh C, et al. Embracing cancer complexity: hallmarks of systemic disease. Cell, 2024, 187 (7): 1589-1616. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.02.009
[7] Engels EA. Epidemiologic perspectives on immunosuppressed populations and the immunosurveillance and immunocontainment of cancer. American Journal of Transplantation, 2019, 19 (12): 3223-3232. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajt.15495
[8] Harris MA, Savas P, Virassamy B, et al. Towards targeting the breast cancer immune microenvironment. Nature Reviews Cancer, 2024, 24 (8): 554-577. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41568-024-00714-6
[9] Danenberg E, Bardwell H, Zanotelli VRT, et al. Breast tumor microenvironment structures are associated with genomic features and clinical outcome. Nature Genetics, 2022, 54 (5): 660-669. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-022-01041-y
[10] Kennel KB, Bozlar M, De Valk AF, et al. Cancer-associated fibroblasts in inflammation and antitumor immunity. Clinical Cancer Research, 2023, 29 (6): 1009-1016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-22-1031
[11] Xiong S, Dong L, Cheng L. Neutrophils in cancer carcinogenesis and metastasis. Journal of Hematology & Oncology, 2021, 14 (1): 173. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13045-021-01187-y
[12] Salgado R, Denkert C, Campbell C, et al. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and associations with pathological complete response and event-free survival in HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer treated with lapatinib and trastuzumab: a secondary analysis of the NeoALTTO trial. JAMA Oncology, 2015, 1 (4): 448-454. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoncol.2015.0830
[13] Loi S, Salgado R, Schmid P, et al. Association between biomarkers and clinical outcomes of pembrolizumab monotherapy in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer: KEYNOTE-086 exploratory analysis. JCO Precision Oncology, 2023, 7: e2200317. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1200/PO.22.00317
[14] Luen S, Virassamy B, Savas P, et al. The genomic landscape of breast cancer and its interaction with host immunity. Breast, 2016, 29: 241-250. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.breast.2016.07.015
[15] Savas P, Virassamy B, Ye C, et al. Single-cell profiling of breast cancer T cells reveals a tissue-resident memory subset associated with improved prognosis. Nature Medicine, 2018, 24 (7): 986-993. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-018-0078-7
[16] Li L, Zhang F, Liu Z, et al. Immunotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer: combination strategies to improve outcome. Cancers, 2023, 15 (1): 321. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15010321
[17] Schütz F, Stefanovic S, Mayer L, et al. PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in breast cancer. Oncology Research and Treatment, 2017, 40 (5): 294-297. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1159/000464353
[18] Debien V, De Caluwé A, Wang X, et al. Immunotherapy in breast cancer: an overview of current strategies and perspectives. npj Breast Cancer, 2023, 9(1): 7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41523-023-00508-3
[19] Baudino TA. Targeted cancer therapy: the next generation of cancer treatment. Current Drug Discovery Technologies, 2015, 12 (1): 3-20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2174/1570163812666150602144310
[20] Ye F, Dewanjee S, Li Y, et al. Advancements in clinical aspects of targeted therapy and immunotherapy in breast cancer. Molecular Cancer, 2023, 22 (1): 105. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12943-023-01805-y
[21] Hu Y, Wang C, Liang H, et al. The treatment landscape of triple-negative breast cancer. Medical Oncology, 2024, 41 (10): 236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-024-02456-9
[22] Emens LA, Cruz C, Eder JP, et al. Long-term clinical outcomes and biomarker analyses of atezolizumab therapy for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer: a phase 1 study. JAMA Oncology, 2019, 5 (1): 74-82. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoncol.2018.4224
[23] Mittendorf EA, Clifton GT, Holmes JP, et al. Final report of the phase I/II clinical trial of the E75 (nelipepimut-S) vaccine with booster inoculations to prevent disease recurrence in high-risk breast cancer patients. Annals of Oncology, 2014, 25 (9): 1735-1742. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdu211
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Transactions on Materials, Biotechnology and Life Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
