Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) outcomes are shaped by a complex tumor microenvironment (TME), where malignant cells represent only a minority of the tissue. Recent advances in single-cell technologies - including single-cell RNA sequencing, single-nucleus RNA sequencing, single-cell assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing, single-cell T-cell receptor sequencing, and imaging mass cytometry - have uncovered the cellular, regulatory, and spatial heterogeneity of RCC.
Here, we synthesize insights from these approaches to define diverse CD8+ T-cell subsets and exhaustion trajectories, as well as the origins, phenotypic diversity, and functional states of other immune cells including tumor-associated macrophages, dendritic cells, natural killer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts. Together, these findings highlight the transformative potential of single-cell technologies to unravel TME complexity, identify biomarkers of therapeutic response, and guide precision immunotherapy in RCC.
Trends in cancer. 2025 Dec 02 [Epub ahead of print]
Betul Gok Yavuz, Narmina Khanmammadova, Zuhair Majeed, Mostafa I H Ali, Merve Hasanov, Mehmet Asim Bilen, Eric A Singer, Elshad Hasanov
Section of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA., Department of Urology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA; Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA., Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA., Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA., Division of Urologic Oncology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH, USA., Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA. Electronic address: .
PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/41339185