Immunotherapy biomarkers in brain metastases: insights into tumor microenvironment dynamics
Brain metastases (BM), represent the most common intracranial malignancies in adults and remain a major clinical challenge due to their poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. Although immunotherapy has emerged and offers a promising strategy, its efficacy in BM is often compromised by the i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Immunology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1600261/full |
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| author | Mu Li Yi Zhang Duo Yu Yaoyu Yu Wenxue Ma |
| author_facet | Mu Li Yi Zhang Duo Yu Yaoyu Yu Wenxue Ma |
| author_sort | Mu Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Brain metastases (BM), represent the most common intracranial malignancies in adults and remain a major clinical challenge due to their poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. Although immunotherapy has emerged and offers a promising strategy, its efficacy in BM is often compromised by the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and limited immune cell infiltration. This review highlights the critical role of cytokines and growth factors as key modulators of immune dynamics in the TME, exploring their utility as predictive and prognostic biomarkers for immune response. We examine selected categories of biomarkers including genomic, proteomic, immunological, circulating, and microenvironmental, specifically through the lens of cytokine and growth factor regulation. Additionally, we highlight how advanced technologies, including next-generation sequencing (NGS), single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), spatial transcriptomics, and liquid biopsies, contribute to the identification and validation of these biomarkers. By addressing current challenges and proposing future directions, this review underscores the translational value of cytokine- and growth factor-related biomarkers in optimizing precision immunotherapy for patient s with BM. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c23eb248f97f47dca071b6ae8cf705c8 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1664-3224 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Immunology |
| spelling | doaj-art-c23eb248f97f47dca071b6ae8cf705c82025-08-20T03:05:31ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Immunology1664-32242025-08-011610.3389/fimmu.2025.16002611600261Immunotherapy biomarkers in brain metastases: insights into tumor microenvironment dynamicsMu Li0Yi Zhang1Duo Yu2Yaoyu Yu3Wenxue Ma4Department of Neurosurgery, Dengzhou People’s Hospital, Dengzhou, Henan, ChinaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Dengzhou People’s Hospital, Dengzhou, Henan, ChinaDepartment of Biopharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Air Force Medical University, Xi’an, ChinaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Brain Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Medicine, Sanford Stem Cell Institute, and Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United StatesBrain metastases (BM), represent the most common intracranial malignancies in adults and remain a major clinical challenge due to their poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. Although immunotherapy has emerged and offers a promising strategy, its efficacy in BM is often compromised by the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and limited immune cell infiltration. This review highlights the critical role of cytokines and growth factors as key modulators of immune dynamics in the TME, exploring their utility as predictive and prognostic biomarkers for immune response. We examine selected categories of biomarkers including genomic, proteomic, immunological, circulating, and microenvironmental, specifically through the lens of cytokine and growth factor regulation. Additionally, we highlight how advanced technologies, including next-generation sequencing (NGS), single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), spatial transcriptomics, and liquid biopsies, contribute to the identification and validation of these biomarkers. By addressing current challenges and proposing future directions, this review underscores the translational value of cytokine- and growth factor-related biomarkers in optimizing precision immunotherapy for patient s with BM.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1600261/fullbiomarkersimmunotherapybrain metastasescytokinestumor microenvironment (TME)transcriptomics |
| spellingShingle | Mu Li Yi Zhang Duo Yu Yaoyu Yu Wenxue Ma Immunotherapy biomarkers in brain metastases: insights into tumor microenvironment dynamics Frontiers in Immunology biomarkers immunotherapy brain metastases cytokines tumor microenvironment (TME) transcriptomics |
| title | Immunotherapy biomarkers in brain metastases: insights into tumor microenvironment dynamics |
| title_full | Immunotherapy biomarkers in brain metastases: insights into tumor microenvironment dynamics |
| title_fullStr | Immunotherapy biomarkers in brain metastases: insights into tumor microenvironment dynamics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Immunotherapy biomarkers in brain metastases: insights into tumor microenvironment dynamics |
| title_short | Immunotherapy biomarkers in brain metastases: insights into tumor microenvironment dynamics |
| title_sort | immunotherapy biomarkers in brain metastases insights into tumor microenvironment dynamics |
| topic | biomarkers immunotherapy brain metastases cytokines tumor microenvironment (TME) transcriptomics |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1600261/full |
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