To date, being the third most common cancer with about 10% of cases, colon cancer has become the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide[1-4]. A typical clinical feature of colon cancer is its invisibility or rare detection at an early stage, leading to many patients being diagnosed in the middle or advanced stages.
The tumor microenvironment (TME) is the soil, on which the malignant tumors rely for survival. The extracellular matrix (ECM) and immune cells, as core components of the tumor microenvironment, are highly intertwined and dynamically interact with each other. They provide a key impetus for processes such as immune response, angiogenesis, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition [5-7]. Systematic exploring the roles of ECM in TME is crucial for the early diagnosis and precision therapy, which may lead to a significantly better prognosis for patients[8, 9].
By Hyuna Sung
References
[1] Miller, Kimberly D et al. “Cancer treatment and survivorship statistics, 2022.” CA: a cancer journal for clinicians vol. 72,5 (2022): 409-436. doi:10.3322/caac.21731
[2] Sung, Hyuna 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 vol. 71,3 (2021): 209-249. doi:10.3322/caac.21660
[3] Siegel, Rebecca L et al. “Colorectal cancer statistics, 2023.” CA: a cancer journal for clinicians vol. 73,3 (2023): 233-254. doi:10.3322/caac.21772
[4] Benson, Al B et al. “Colon Cancer, Version 2.2021, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.” Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network: JNCCN vol. 19,3 329-359. 2 Mar. 2021, doi:10.6004/jnccn.2021.0012
[5] de Visser, Karin E, and Johanna A Joyce. “The evolving tumor microenvironment: From cancer initiation to metastatic outgrowth.” Cancer cell vol. 41,3 (2023): 374-403. doi:10.1016/j.ccell.2023.02.016
[6] Peña-Romero, Alicia Cristina, and Esteban Orenes-Piñero. “Dual Effect of Immune Cells within Tumour Microenvironment: Pro- and Anti-Tumour Effects and Their Triggers.” Cancers vol. 14,7 1681. 25 Mar. 2022, doi:10.3390/cancers14071681
[7] Sutherland, Tara E et al. “The extracellular matrix and the immune system: A mutually dependent relationship.” Science (New York, N.Y.) vol. 379,6633 (2023): eabp8964. doi:10.1126/science.abp8964
[8] Buccafusca, Gabriella et al. “Early colorectal cancer: diagnosis, treatment and survivorship care.” Critical reviews in oncology/hematology vol. 136 (2019): 20-30. doi:10.1016/j.critrevonc.2019.01.023
[9] Duan B, Zhao Y, Bai J et al. Colorectal Cancer: An Overview. In: Morgado-Diaz JA, editor. Gastrointestinal Cancers. Brisbane (AU): Exon Publications. Online first 09 Jul 2022.doi: 10.36255/exon-publications-gastrointestinal-cancers-colorectal-cancer