Inflammatory Tumor Immune Microenvironment: Molecular Mechanisms and Signaling Pathways in Cancer Progression and Metastasis

Cancer cells, as well as surrounding stromal and inflammatory cells, engage in well-orchestrated reciprocal interactions to form an inflammatory tumor microenvironment. The inflammatory tumor microenvironment plays multiple roles in different stages of tumor development, including tumorigenesis, primary tumor growth and distant metastasis. Cells within the tumor microenvironment are highly plastic, continuously changing their phenotypic and functional characteristics. High-throughput single-cell methods, including single-cell sequencing and mass spectrometry, have greatly improved the understanding of inflammatory tumor microenvironment in the past few years. Metabolic adaptation, epigenetic heterogeneity and post-translational modification continue to propel the conceptual advances of inflammatory tumor microenvironment. Given the critical involvement of the inflammatory tumor microenvironment in tumor development, investigations into the inflammatory tumor microenvironment may favor further development of anti-cancer therapies.

This Research Topic aims to shed light on inflammatory tumor microenvironment in tumorigenesis, primary tumor growth and distant metastasis. We welcome contributions in form of Original Research articles, Reviews and Mini-Reviews that cover but are not limited to the following topics related to inflammatory tumor microenvironment in cancer:
- Inflammation-manipulated immune cell plasticity within the tumor microenvironment
- Inflammation-involved immune exhaustion in cancer
- Mechanisms of inflammatory leukocytes accumulation in tumor microenvironment
- Metabolic adaptation of inflammatory cells in tumor microenvironment
- Targeting pro-tumoral inflammation in tumor therapy