Adriani, G., Cappello, P., & Lovisa, S. (2023). Editorial: Preclinical models and emerging technologies to study the effects of the tumor microenvironment on cancer heterogeneity and drug resistance. Frontiers in Oncology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2023.1289756
Abstract:
Cancer research has witnessed remarkable advancements in recent years, with molecularly targeted treatments and immunotherapy revolutionizing patient care. However, some cancer types, such as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, continue to defy treatment, and the emergence of drug resistance remains a significant challenge, hampering efforts to achieve lasting remission, especially in metastatic disease. In the past, cancer development was solely attributed to the appearance of genomic alterations in cancer cells. In the last decades, a broad consensus arose about the necessity for cancer cells to cooperate with host cells, such as fibroblasts, vascular cells, lymphatic cells, and immune cells during carcinogenesis and cancer progression. Therefore, the focus shifted toward understanding the tumor microenvironment (TME) heterogeneity and its impact on cancer evolution and drug resistance. In this dynamic landscape, innovative preclinical models and cutting-edge technologies have emerged as indispensable tools in TME characterization and, in general, in the efforts against cancer.
License type:
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Funding Info:
This research / project is supported by the A*STAR - 1st Italy-Singapore Science and Technology Cooperation grant
Grant Reference no. : R23I0IR036
This work was supported by the AIRC-IG grant (grant number 26341) and the Fondazione CRT grant (grant number CRT-2020.0719), the AIRC-Start-Up grant (grant number 24750), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement (grant number 101029427).