the.com/tumor microenvironment
a cancer cell's home turf, rigged with accomplices it recruited itself.
means the ecosystem of blood vessels, immune cells, and support tissue surrounding a tumor that the cancer hijacks to feed itself and dodge attack.
from pathologists long treated tumors as isolated rogue cells; by the 1990s research showed the surrounding tissue actively cooperates, coining the term to capture cancer as a corrupted neighborhood, not a lone criminal.
immune betrayaltumors reprogram immune cells to protect them instead
oxygen starvationlow oxygen inside tumors actually helps cancer spread
drug resistancethe microenvironment shields cells from chemotherapy directly
for instance
macrophages gone rogue — tumor-associated macrophages can make up 50% of tumor mass
pancreatic cancer stroma — dense scar-like tissue blocks drug delivery almost entirely
melanoma checkpoint therapy — targets microenvironment signals, revolutionizing treatment since 2011