Cytokine Interaction With Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in Esophageal Cancer

Abstract

Esophageal cancer (EC) is a highly aggressive cancer with poor outcomes under current treatment regimens. More recent findings suggest stroma elements, specifically cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), play a role in disease occurrence and progression. Cancer-associated fibroblasts are largely the product of converted fibroblasts, but a variety of other local cell types including epithelial cells, endothelial cells, and mesenchymal cells have also been shown to transform to CAFs under the correct conditions. Cancer-associated fibroblasts primarily function in the communication between the tumor microenvironment and cancer cells via cytokine and chemokine secretions that accentuate immunosuppression and cancer growth. Cancer-associated fibroblasts also pose issues for EC treatment by contributing to resistance of current chemotherapeutics like cisplatin. Targeting this cell type directly proves difficult given the heterogeneity between CAFs subpopulations, but emerging research provides hope that treatment is on the horizon. This review aims to unravel some of the complexities surrounding CAFs’ impact on EC growth and therapy.

Comprehensive expression, prognostic and validation analysis of necroptosis-related lncRNAs in esophageal cancer

“…The tumor microenvironment (TME) is the cause of resistance to conventional therapeutic drugs [ 39 ]. The TME consists of various cell types, including macrophages, endothelial cells, pericytes, adipocytes, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, and cancer-associated fibroblasts[ [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] ]. In the present study, correlation analysis between lncRNA ENSG00000253385.1 expression and immune infiltration, as well as coexpression analysis of related genes, were performed.…”

Targeting TRAIL Death Receptors in Triple-Negative Breast Cancers: Challenges and Strategies for Cancer Therapy

“…[ 229 , 230 , 231 ]. The pro-tumorigenic components usually involve secretion of anti- inflammatory cytokines derived either from myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), regulatory T cells (T-regs), cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), B cells, and tumor-associated neutrophils (TANS) [ 232 , 233 , 234 ]. Neutrophils can secrete neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which are structures that consist mainly of DNA fibers and antibacterial proteins.…”

Recent developments in PD-1/PD-L1 blockade research for gastroesophageal malignancies

“…Thus, certain TAM subgroups could have prognostic value in gastric adenocarcinoma and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) ( 32 ). Finally, through a variety of cytokines, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), valuable stromal cells in the TME, contribute to the growth, progression, and metastasis of EC ( 33 , 34 ). CAFs upregulate PD-L1 expression, thereby promoting cancer cell proliferation in GC ( 35 ).…”