Tumor‐Associated Macrophages: Key Players in the Non‐Small Cell Lung Cancer Tumor Microenvironment

作者：Tongtong Lv, Rui Fan, Jiaqi Wu, Hui Gong, Xiaoru Gao, Xin Liu, Yixin Gong, Bo Luo, Yanhua Zhang, Xiaochun Peng, Gai Liang · 发表于：Cancer Medicine · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1002/cam4.70670 · 被引用次数：17 · 研究领域：Immune cells in cancer、Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics、Ferroptosis and cancer prognosis

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is among the most common and deadliest malignant tumors worldwide. It is often detected at late stages, resulting in unfavorable outcomes, with tumor cell heterogeneity and medication resistance. Tumor-associated macrophages are among the key cells contributing to cancer progression. They are categorized into two primary phenotypes: Proinflammatory (M1) and anti-inflammatory (M2) which are involved in the onset and progression of NSCLC. The role of common cytokines secreted by macrophages in the progression of lung cancer are described, and the effects of various substances such as RNA or protein on the differentiation and polarization of two phenotypes of macrophages are highlighted to characterize the impact of the immune state of tumors on therapeutic effect of treatments and patient prognosis. Researchers have primarily aimed to investigate innovative carriers and strategies based on macrophages to modify the tumor microenvironment. OBJECTIVES: These approaches are often integrated with other treatments, particularly immunotherapy, to enhance therapeutic efficacy. METHODS: A comprehensive review was carried out by systematically synthesizing existing literature on PubMed, using the combination of the keywords "TAMs", "NSCLC", "Drug resistance", and "therapy". The available studies were screened for selection based on quality and relevance. CONCLUSIONS: TAMs promote tumor invasion, growth, and metastasis by promoting angiogenesis and EMT. In additio...