The Role of the Tumor Microenvironment in Penile Carcinoma and Emerging Therapeutic Concepts: A Review - Beyond the Abstract

This comprehensive review summarizes recent findings on the tumor microenvironment (TME) in HPV+ and HPV- penile carcinomas (PC) and their impact on personalized treatment.

We highlight differences in the composition of immune cells, peritumoral stromal cells, vascular cells, and the expression of surface proteins to provide readers with a thorough understanding of the complex reorganization of the TME in PC. In our opinion, this is a valuable synthesis of current studies to better understand potential therapeutic strategies such as immunotherapies, antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), and angiogenesis inhibitors in PC. Furthermore, clinical trials investigating immune checkpoint inhibitors and antibody-drug conjugates are discussed, which have the potential to be "game changers" for this aggressive neoplasm.

Written by: August Fiegl, Institute of Pathology, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany; Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN (CCC ER-EMN), Erlangen, Germany; Bavarian Cancer Research Center (BZKF), Erlangen, Germany

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