The tumor microenvironment has become a very important and hot topic in cancer research within the past few years. The tumor microenvironment is defined as the normal cells, molecules, and blood vessels that surround and feed a tumor cell. As many scientists have realized, studying the tumor microenvironment has become critical to moving the field forward, since there are many players in a tumor’s localized and surrounding area, which can significantly change cancer cell behavior. There is a dual relationship wherein the tumor can change its microenvironment and the microenvironment can affect how a tumor grows and spreads. Tumor Microenvironment in Cancer Progression and Cancer Therapy aims to shed light on the mechanisms, factors, and mediators that are involved in the cancer cell environment. Recent studies have demonstrated that in addition to promoting tumor progression and protecting tumor cells from the spontaneous immune-mediated rejection and different forms of cancer therapeutics, tumor microenvironment can also be a target and mediator of both standard and newly-emerging forms of cancer therapeutics. Thus, the dual role of the tumor microenvironment is the integral focus of the volume. The volume highlights the bi-directional interactions between tumor cells and non-malignant tumor component during tumor progression and treatment. It also focuses on the three groups of the reactive tumor component: stromal cells, blood vessels and the infiltrating immune cells. These three groups are discussed under the lens of their role in promoting tumor growth, shielding the tumor from rejection and from standard forms of cancer therapies. They are emerging as targets and mediators of standard and new forms of potential therapy.

The immune system harbors great potential for controlling and eliminating tumors. Recent developments in the field of immuno-oncology has led to unprecedented clinical benefits for a broad spectrum of solid tumors. However, immunotherapy (IT) approaches currently have several limitations including (i) low response rate; (ii) development of resistance and (iii) causing severe immune-related adverse effects (IrAEs), which underline the importance of adequate patient selection. Importantly, IT holds promising synergistic potential when combined with standard-of-care chemotherapy, radiotherapy (RT) and anti-angiogenic therapy (AAT) as part of multi-modal oncologic treatment regimes. Published data suggest that there are potential synergy between RT and AAT, which ultimately could help potentiate the response to IT. However, the complex interactions between RT and IT and/or AAT remain poorly understood. Many research questions including optimal timing, scheduling and dosing, as well as patient selection and side effects of combined therapy approaches, remain to be addressed. This Research Topic aims to give a comprehensive overview of the current field with particular emphasis on the future outlook of RT and AAT as complementary approaches to improve IT in solid tumors.

Analysis of multidirectional immunological responses at the tumor site allows forming a new concept of The Tumor Immunoenvironment, which is introduced and discussed in the present book with a particular focus on the role of immune cells in controlling the tumor microenvironment at different stages of cancer development. The main goal of this publication is to provide an overview of the current knowledge on the complex and unique role of the immune system, tumor-associated inflammation and tumor-mediated immunomodulation in cancer progression in a way that allows understanding the logistics of cellular and molecular interactions in the tumor lesions.

This Atlas is a unique scientific publication. It includes major issues of up-to-date information about immunophenotype, morphology and the function of the main effectors of anti-tumor immunity set down in a well presented format. The Atlas comprises a large number of illustrations presenting schemes and original micrographs demonstrating morphological features and ultrastructure of immunocompetent cells at various stages of differentiation. A special section of the Atlas describes cellular tumor microenvironment and micro-anatomy of carcinomas. Several parts include data about killer cells and T-regulatory lymphocytes.

This collection of papers offers a broad synopsis of state-of-the-art mathematical methods used in modeling the interaction between tumors and the immune system. These papers were presented at the four-day workshop on Mathematical Models of Tumor-Immune System Dynamics held in Sydney, Australia from January 7th to January 10th, 2013. The workshop brought together applied mathematicians, biologists, and clinicians actively working in the field of cancer immunology to share their current research and to increase awareness of the innovative mathematical tools that are applicable to the growing field of cancer immunology. Recent progress in cancer immunology and advances in immunotherapy suggest that the immune system plays a fundamental role in host defense against tumors and could be utilized to prevent or cure cancer. Although theoretical and experimental studies of tumor-immune system dynamics have a long history, there are still many unanswered questions about the mechanisms that govern the interaction between the immune system and a growing tumor. The multidimensional nature of these complex interactions requires a cross-disciplinary approach to capture more realistic dynamics of the essential biology. The papers presented in this volume explore these issues and the results will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in a variety of fields within mathematical and biological sciences.

Cancer Vaccines and Tumor Immunity offers a review of the basic scientific discoveries that have moved forward into clinical trials. Presented in the context of real-world human research and experimentation, these major scientific advances demonstrate how our understanding of immune activation, T-regulatory cells, and autoimmunity will impact cancer vaccine design. The authors also explain how vaccination in the context of bone marrow transplantation will open new avenues for clinical study in the future.