Crosstalk between heterogeneous cancer-associated fibroblast subpopulations and the immune system in breast cancer: key players and promising therapeutic targets
Liu L., Wan W., Chang Y., Ao L., Xu Y., Xu X.
Narrative Review, published in J Exp Clin Cancer Res (2025) — summary generated from the PubMed abstract.
Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.
- Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
- Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
- Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
- Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
- Emerging · Emerging topic under active research
This page is generated from the PubMed record. The Thai description is an automated summary of bibliographic fields and the abstract, not a full translation, and is not medical advice.
- Study type
- Narrative Review
- Journal
- J Exp Clin Cancer Res (2025)
- Reported sample size
- —
- Source database
- Europe PMC
- PMID
- 40890855
- PMCID
- PMC12400774
- DOI
- 10.1186/s13046-025-03527-z
- Citations
- 4
Abstract (original English)
The tumor microenvironment (TME) of breast cancer is a complex ecosystem, in which cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), as the most abundant stromal cell type, meticulously construct an ecological niche that supports tumor growth through mechanisms including extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, secretion of bioactive factors, and interactions with neighboring cells. High-resolution technologies, including single-cell sequencing and spatial transcriptomics, have revealed the high heterogeneity, functional diversity, and spatial distribution within the CAF population. Significant differences exist in the interactions between distinct CAF subpopulations and immune cells. Through complex crosstalk with the immune system, they collaboratively establish an immunosuppressive network, becoming a core driving force for tumor immune escape. This review focuses on the latest research advances in heterogeneous subpopulations of CAFs within the breast cancer microenvironment, delves into how the complex bidirectional crosstalk between different CAF subpopulations and immune cells collaboratively shapes the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), and summarizes various CAF-based therapeutic strategies for breast cancer, aiming to provide critical theoretical basis and novel therapeutic perspectives for the clinical translation of CAF heterogeneity research.
What this study does not prove
- • This study does not prove SVF is an approved treatment or a replacement for standard care.
- • This is a narrative review: it collects no new patient data and does not systematically appraise evidence quality.
Evidence level
Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.
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