Tumor Microenvironment and Signaling Pathways in Prostate Cancer: From Immune Modulation to Targeted Therapies

Dear Colleagues,

Despite significant therapeutic advances, prostate cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in men worldwide. A deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms driving disease initiation, progression and treatment resistance is essential for the development of more effective therapies and clinically relevant biomarkers. Equally important is the creation of experimental models that better reflect the complexity of human disease, enabling improved patient stratification and treatment selection.

The tumour microenvironment (TME) has emerged as a key regulator of prostate cancer biology, influencing tumour growth, immune evasion, metastatic spread, and therapeutic response. Recent technological advances, including single-cell and spatial omics, high-resolution imaging, and sophisticated ex vivo and in vivo models, have transformed our ability to investigate the cellular and molecular interactions within the tumour ecosystem. These approaches are providing unprecedented insights into the dynamic crosstalk between tumour, stromal, immune, and vascular cells.

As a result, research into the prostate cancer microenvironment has become a rapidly expanding and highly impactful field. Understanding how microenvironmental factors shape disease progression and therapeutic vulnerability offers significant opportunities for discovering novel biomarkers, therapeutic targets, and precision medicine strategies, with important implications for both fundamental cancer biology and clinical practice.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the most recent advances related to the prostate cancer microenvironment and its role in disease progression, therapeutic response, and clinical outcomes. We welcome original research articles, reviews, communications, and perspectives that address molecular, cellular, translational, and clinical aspects of prostate cancer-microenvironment interactions.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Tumor-stroma interactions in prostate cancer
• Cancer-associated fibroblasts and stromal remodeling
• Immune microenvironment and immune evasion mechanisms
• Tumor-associated macrophages, myeloid cells, and lymphocyte biology
• Extracellular matrix dynamics and mechanobiology
• Angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis, and vascular remodeling
• Bone metastatic niche and organ-specific microenvironments
• Microenvironment-mediated therapeutic resistance
• Biomarkers derived from tumor microenvironment components
• Single-cell, spatial transcriptomic, and multi-omics approaches
• Microbiome and inflammatory signaling in prostate cancer
• Novel therapeutic strategies targeting the tumor microenvironment
• Preclinical models and translational studies of prostate cancer-microenvironment interactions
• Clinical implications and precision oncology approaches related to the tumor microenvironment.

Dr. Helen B. Pearson
Guest Editor

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