Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of malignant mesenchymal tumors, including soft tissue and bone sarcomas. Macrophages in the tumor microenvironment, involved in immunosuppression and leading to tumor development, are called tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). TAMs are very important in modulating the microenvironment of sarcomas by expressing specific markers and secreting factors that influence immune and tumor cells. They are involved in many signaling pathways, such as p-STAT3/p-Erk1/2, PI3K/Akt, JAK/MAPK, and JAK/STAT3. TAMs also significantly impact the clinical outcomes of patients suffering from sarcomas and are mainly related to poor overall survival rates among bone and soft tissue sarcomas, for example, chondrosarcoma, osteosarcoma, liposarcoma, synovial sarcoma, and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma. This review summarizes the current knowledge on TAMs in sarcomas, focusing on specific markers on sarcoma cells, cell–cell interactions, and the possibly involved molecular pathways. Furthermore, we discuss the clinical significance of macrophages in sarcomas as a potential target for new therapies, presenting clinical relevance, possible new treatment options, and ongoing clinical trials using TAMs in sarcoma treatment.
肉瘤是一组异质性的恶性间叶组织肿瘤，包括软组织肉瘤和骨肉瘤。肿瘤微环境中的巨噬细胞参与免疫抑制并促进肿瘤发展，被称为肿瘤相关巨噬细胞。TAMs通过表达特定标志物及分泌影响免疫细胞和肿瘤细胞的因子，在调控肉瘤微环境中发挥重要作用。它们参与多种信号通路，如p-STAT3/p-Erk1/2、PI3K/Akt、JAK/MAPK和JAK/STAT3通路。TAMs还显著影响肉瘤患者的临床结局，主要与软骨肉瘤、骨肉瘤、脂肪肉瘤、滑膜肉瘤和未分化多形性肉瘤等骨与软组织肉瘤患者总体生存率较低相关。本综述总结了当前关于肉瘤中TAMs的研究进展，重点关注肉瘤细胞的特异性标志物、细胞间相互作用及可能涉及的分子通路。此外，我们探讨了巨噬细胞在肉瘤中的临床意义及其作为新疗法潜在靶点的价值，阐述了相关临床关联性、可能的新型治疗策略以及当前基于TAMs的肉瘤治疗临床试验。
The Role of Macrophages in Sarcoma Tumor Microenvironment and Treatment
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家