Lung cancer stem cells in the tumor microenvironment: translational biomarkers and therapeutic strategies for immune evasion and treatment resistance

Description

Li Li Shao and co-authors review in 2026 how lung cancer stem cells conspire with their surrounding immune environment to dodge treatment. These stem-like cells renew themselves, spawn varied tumor cells, and shrug off chemotherapy, radiation, targeted drugs, and immunotherapy alike. Around them sits a microenvironment of macrophages, suppressor cells, regulatory T cells, fibroblasts, and oxygen-starved zones that keeps the stem cells supplied and hidden.

The review traces traffic in both directions. Environmental partners sustain stemness through signals, metabolic rewiring, and direct contact. The stem cells in turn release suppressive cytokines and vesicles, recruit more suppressor cells, blunt killer T and natural killer cells, and hide their identifying antigens. The authors catalog biomarkers that expose this partnership and strategies to break it, arguing that pairing stem-cell targeting with immune reactivation offers the best route to durable immunotherapy responses.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/PMC13449483