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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1481247
This article is part of the Research Topic Immune Cell Exhaustion: New Challenges and Opportunities in Cancer Therapy View all 4 articles

Targeting the CSF1/CSF1R signaling pathway: an innovative strategy for ultrasound combined with macrophage exhaustion in pancreatic cancer therapy

Provisionally accepted
Qian Wang Qian Wang 1Jianhong Wang Jianhong Wang 2*Ke Xu Ke Xu 3*Zhibin Luo Zhibin Luo 3*
  • 1 Xichong People's Hospital, Nanchong, China
  • 2 Guang'an Vocational & Technical College, Guang an, China
  • 3 Chongqing General Hospital, Chongqing, Chongqing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly aggressive and lethal malignancy characterized by a complex tumor microenvironment (TME) and immunosuppressive features that limit the efficacy of existing treatments. This paper reviews the potential of combining ultrasound with macrophage exhaustion in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Macrophages, particularly tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), are crucial in pancreatic cancer progression and immune escape. Prolonged exposure to the immunosuppressive TME leads to macrophage exhaustion, reducing their anti-tumor ability and instead promoting tumor growth. The CSF1/CSF1R signaling pathway is key in macrophage recruitment and functional regulation, making it an effective target for combating macrophage exhaustion. Ultrasound technology not only plays a significant role in diagnosis and staging but also enhances therapeutic efficacy by guiding radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and percutaneous alcohol injection (PEI) in combination with immunomodulators. Additionally, ultrasound imaging can monitor the number and functional status of TAMs in real-time, providing a basis for optimizing treatment strategies. Future studies should further investigate the combined use of ultrasound and immunomodulators to refine treatment regimens, address challenges such as individual variability and long-term effects, and offer new hope for pancreatic cancer patients.

    Keywords: TAMs, immune exhaustion, TME, CSF1/CSF1R, ultrasound, Pancreatic Cancer

    Received: 15 Aug 2024; Accepted: 11 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Wang, Xu and Luo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Jianhong Wang, Guang'an Vocational & Technical College, Guang an, China
    Ke Xu, Chongqing General Hospital, Chongqing, 400081, Chongqing, China
    Zhibin Luo, Chongqing General Hospital, Chongqing, 400081, Chongqing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.