How to get to grips with the tumor microenvironment

Why are cancer researchers obsessing over the tumor microenvironment (TME)? Over recent years, the TME has been under ever-increasing scrutiny because of its critical role in cancer development, growth and spread. But the TME is a complex sea of information and forever in a state of flux. It is shaped by the tumor itself through the release of extracellular signals promoting tumor angiogenesis and inducing peripheral immune tolerance. It’s also influenced by immune cells, which can affect the growth and evolution of cancerous cells. Another key player is the tumor microbiome, as host-microbiota crosstalk impacts tumor cell biology.

Unraveling the TME can help researchers build a holistic picture of cancer, from disease progression to treatment response. However, studying the ever-evolving TME requires highly sensitive technologies designed to detect specific components that make up the TME. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is your best shot at deciphering the multiple molecular interactions within the TME.

Capturing genomic and transcriptomic details

NGS has revolutionized cancer research by enhancing our ability to study cancer at a molecular level. Due to its discovery power, NGS can unlock intricate genomic and transcriptomic details of the TME.

NGS technologies can be used to:

• Reveal and profile rare DNA variants, CNVs, transcriptomes and fusion genes
• Study the expression of lncRNAs and miRNAs to shed light on their roles as mediators of cell signaling regulation
• Assess the comprehensive T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire to elucidate the immune response in the TME
• Get a simultaneous and holistic view of both DNA and RNA variants through comprehensive genomic profiling
• Perform functional characterization of the microbiome

From tumor heterogeneity to tumor immunology: A deep dive into the TME using Sample to Insight NGS workflows

If you’re looking for inspiration or wondering which technologies could work best for your own TME research project, we’ve compiled an educational webinar series where external experts explore:

• How the anti-tumor properties of engineered T-cells can be used to target melanoma
• How immunogenic neo-peptides from actionable RNA fusions can be exploited for cancer vaccine development
• Functional interrogation of cell state heterogeneity in solid tumors

Discover how optimized preparation of challenging cancer samples together with TCR-seq, RNA-seq, exome-seq and other NGS technologies can reveal the secrets of the TME. Whether you’re seeking new ideas, proof-of-principle or expert insights from the cancer research community, this webinar series covers it all.

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