A Comprehensive Exploration of Agents Targeting Tumor Microenvironment: Challenges and Future Perspectives

The tumor microenvironment (TME) encompasses the complex and diverse surroundings in which tumors arise. Emerging insights highlight the TME's critical role in tumor development, progression, metastasis, and treatment response. Consequently, the TME has attracted significant research and clinical interest, leading to the identification of numerous novel therapeutic targets. Advances in molecular technologies now enable detailed genomic and transcriptional analysis of cancer cells and the TME and the integration of microenvironmental data to the tumor genomic landscape. This comprehensive review discusses current progress in targeting the TME for drug development, addressing associated challenges, strategies for modulating the pro-tumor microenvironment, and the discovery of new targets.