Functional and Therapeutic Significance of Tumor-Associated Macrophages in Colorectal Cancer

Yitong Li; Zhenmei Chen; Jiahao Han; Xiaochen Ma; Xin Zheng; Jinhong Chen

doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.781233

Functional and Therapeutic Significance of Tumor-Associated Macrophages in Colorectal Cancer

Front Oncol. 2022 Feb 2:12:781233. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.781233. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yitong Li^{1

2}, Zhenmei Chen^{1

2}, Jiahao Han^{1

2}, Xiaochen Ma^{1

2}, Xin Zheng^{1

2}, Jinhong Chen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
² Cancer Metastasis Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

The role of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in the progression of colorectal cancer (CRC) and its acquisition of resistance to treatment become the research hotspots. As an important component of TME, the tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) regulate multiple critical oncogenic processes, namely, occurrence, proliferation, metastasis, and drug resistance in CRC. In this review, we have discussed the functional and therapeutic significance of TAMs in CRC. M1 macrophages act as the tumor suppressor while M2 macrophages promote CRC. The polarization of TAMs is mainly regulated by the pathways such as NFKB1 pathways, STAT3 pathways, WNT5A pathways, and PI3K pathways in CRC. Furthermore, the M2 polarization of TAMs is not only controllable but also reversible. Finally, we provide insights into the TAMs-targeted therapeutic strategies.

Keywords: colorectal cancer; mechanism; treatment; tumor microenvironment; tumor-associated macrophages.

Publication types

Review