The progress and prospects of targeting the adenosine pathway in cancer immunotherapy
Abstract Despite the notable success of cancer immunotherapy, its effectiveness is often limited in a significant proportion of patients, highlighting the need to explore alternative tumor immune evasion mechanisms. Adenosine, a key metabolite accumulating in hypoxic tumor regions, has emerged as a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Biomarker Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40364-025-00784-0 |
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| author | Yuying Yang Lin Zhu Yantao Xu Long Liang Li Liu Xiang Chen Hui Li Hong Liu |
| author_facet | Yuying Yang Lin Zhu Yantao Xu Long Liang Li Liu Xiang Chen Hui Li Hong Liu |
| author_sort | Yuying Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Despite the notable success of cancer immunotherapy, its effectiveness is often limited in a significant proportion of patients, highlighting the need to explore alternative tumor immune evasion mechanisms. Adenosine, a key metabolite accumulating in hypoxic tumor regions, has emerged as a promising target in oncology. Inhibiting the adenosinergic pathway not only inhibits tumor progression but also holds potential to enhance immunotherapy outcomes. Multiple therapeutic strategies targeting this pathway are being explored, ranging from preclinical studies to clinical trials. This review examines the complex interactions between adenosine, its receptors, and the tumor microenvironment, proposing strategies to target the adenosinergic axis to boost anti-tumor immunity. It also evaluates early clinical data on pharmacological inhibitors of the adenosinergic pathway and discusses future directions for improving clinical responses. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-23c5df71ab1a44afb5ca0a7a2b4f4a76 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2050-7771 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomarker Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-23c5df71ab1a44afb5ca0a7a2b4f4a762025-08-20T01:53:25ZengBMCBiomarker Research2050-77712025-05-0113113410.1186/s40364-025-00784-0The progress and prospects of targeting the adenosine pathway in cancer immunotherapyYuying Yang0Lin Zhu1Yantao Xu2Long Liang3Li Liu4Xiang Chen5Hui Li6Hong Liu7Department of Dermatology, Hunan Engineering Research Center of Skin Health and Disease, Hunan Key Laboratory of Skin Cancer and Psoriasis, Xiangya Hospital, Central South UniversityDepartment of Dermatology, Hunan Engineering Research Center of Skin Health and Disease, Hunan Key Laboratory of Skin Cancer and Psoriasis, Xiangya Hospital, Central South UniversityDepartment of Dermatology, Hunan Engineering Research Center of Skin Health and Disease, Hunan Key Laboratory of Skin Cancer and Psoriasis, Xiangya Hospital, Central South UniversityMolecular Biology Research Center and Center for Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South UniversityMolecular Biology Research Center and Center for Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South UniversityDepartment of Dermatology, Hunan Engineering Research Center of Skin Health and Disease, Hunan Key Laboratory of Skin Cancer and Psoriasis, Xiangya Hospital, Central South UniversityDepartment of Dermatology, Hunan Engineering Research Center of Skin Health and Disease, Hunan Key Laboratory of Skin Cancer and Psoriasis, Xiangya Hospital, Central South UniversityDepartment of Dermatology, Hunan Engineering Research Center of Skin Health and Disease, Hunan Key Laboratory of Skin Cancer and Psoriasis, Xiangya Hospital, Central South UniversityAbstract Despite the notable success of cancer immunotherapy, its effectiveness is often limited in a significant proportion of patients, highlighting the need to explore alternative tumor immune evasion mechanisms. Adenosine, a key metabolite accumulating in hypoxic tumor regions, has emerged as a promising target in oncology. Inhibiting the adenosinergic pathway not only inhibits tumor progression but also holds potential to enhance immunotherapy outcomes. Multiple therapeutic strategies targeting this pathway are being explored, ranging from preclinical studies to clinical trials. This review examines the complex interactions between adenosine, its receptors, and the tumor microenvironment, proposing strategies to target the adenosinergic axis to boost anti-tumor immunity. It also evaluates early clinical data on pharmacological inhibitors of the adenosinergic pathway and discusses future directions for improving clinical responses.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40364-025-00784-0AdenosineCancer immunotherapyCD73CD39Adenosine receptorsTumor microenvironment |
| spellingShingle | Yuying Yang Lin Zhu Yantao Xu Long Liang Li Liu Xiang Chen Hui Li Hong Liu The progress and prospects of targeting the adenosine pathway in cancer immunotherapy Biomarker Research Adenosine Cancer immunotherapy CD73 CD39 Adenosine receptors Tumor microenvironment |
| title | The progress and prospects of targeting the adenosine pathway in cancer immunotherapy |
| title_full | The progress and prospects of targeting the adenosine pathway in cancer immunotherapy |
| title_fullStr | The progress and prospects of targeting the adenosine pathway in cancer immunotherapy |
| title_full_unstemmed | The progress and prospects of targeting the adenosine pathway in cancer immunotherapy |
| title_short | The progress and prospects of targeting the adenosine pathway in cancer immunotherapy |
| title_sort | progress and prospects of targeting the adenosine pathway in cancer immunotherapy |
| topic | Adenosine Cancer immunotherapy CD73 CD39 Adenosine receptors Tumor microenvironment |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40364-025-00784-0 |
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