Revisiting ovarian cancer microenvironment: a friend or a foe?
10.1007/s13238-017-0466-7
- Author:
Boyi ZHANG
1
;
Fei CHEN
1
;
Qixia XU
2
;
Liu HAN
1
;
Jiaqian XU
2
;
Libin GAO
1
;
Xiaochen SUN
1
;
Yiwen LI
1
;
Yan LI
1
;
Min QIAN
1
;
Yu SUN
3
Author Information
1. Key Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology, Institute of Health Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
2. Institute of Health Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine and Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
3. Key Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology, Institute of Health Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China. sunyu@sibs.ac.cn.
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
combinational treatment;
ectopic metastasis;
ovarian cancer;
patient stratification;
stromal cells;
therapeutic resistance;
tumor microenvironment
- MeSH:
Animals;
Antineoplastic Agents;
pharmacology;
therapeutic use;
Female;
Humans;
Ovarian Neoplasms;
drug therapy;
pathology;
Tumor Microenvironment;
drug effects
- From:
Protein & Cell
2018;9(8):674-692
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Development of ovarian cancer involves the co-evolution of neoplastic cells together with the adjacent microenvironment. Steps of malignant progression including primary tumor outgrowth, therapeutic resistance, and distant metastasis are not determined solely by genetic alterations in ovarian cancer cells, but considerably shaped by the fitness advantage conferred by benign components in the ovarian stroma. As the dynamic cancer topography varies drastically during disease progression, heterologous cell types within the tumor microenvironment (TME) can actively determine the pathological track of ovarian cancer. Resembling many other solid tumor types, ovarian malignancy is nurtured by a TME whose dark side may have been overlooked, rather than overestimated. Further, harnessing breakthrough and targeting cures in human ovarian cancer requires insightful understanding of the merits and drawbacks of current treatment modalities, which mainly target transformed cells. Thus, designing novel and precise strategies that both eliminate cancer cells and manipulate the TME is increasingly recognized as a rational avenue to improve therapeutic outcome and prevent disease deterioration of ovarian cancer patients.
