The tumor microenvironment (TME) mediates immunosuppression resulting in tumor cell escape from immune surveillance and cancer vaccine failure. Immunosuppression is mediated by the STAT-3 transcription factor, which potentiates signaling in tumor and immune cells. Because immunosuppression continues to be a major inhibitor of cancer vaccine efficacy, we examined in this study whether therapeuti...

Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized antigen-presenting cells that have a notable role in the initiation and regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses. In the context of cancer, appropriately activated DCs can induce anti-tumor immunity by activating innate immune cells and tumor-specific lymphocytes that target cancer cells. However, the tumor microenvironment (TME) imposes different...

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) can be antitumorigenic or pro-tumorigenic in colorectal cancer (CRC) depending on the presence of different Treg subsets with various immunosuppressive molecules. Some studies reported the phenotypic characteristics of tumor-infiltrating immune cells in CRC, but limited studies have focused on the co-expression of suppressive molecules on immune cells. The aim of this...

In recent years, there is an increasing attention on the impact of the tumor microenvironment (TME) on tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis (1). Malignant tumor cells and non-malignant stromal cells actively interact with each other and thereby create a tumor-supportive microenviron-ment (2). TME is composed of extracellular matrix and several cell types, such as cancer-associated fibr...

Over decades, the total mesorectal excision (TME) has become the standard technique for rectal cancer surgery [1]. Recently, through advances in technology and surgical technique, the TME has been performed by using laparoscopic and robotic techniques rather than an open technique. Recent randomized clinical trials comparing a laparoscopic TME with an open TME have shown better short-term outco...

In the first experiment, the chemical composition, apparent metabolizable energy (AME), AME corrected for nitrogen (AMEn), true metabolizable energy (TME), TME corrected for nitrogen (TMEn) values of the sweet almond meal were determined in adult Leghorn cockerels. The second experiment was performed to evaluate the effects of different levels of sweet almond meal at 0, 100, 200 and 300 g/kg on...

In malignant tumors, cancer cells are embedded within a complex microenvironment consisting of the extracellular matrix (ECM), blood and lymphatic vessels, infiltrating leukocytes, fibroblasts, and other stromal cells. This microenvironment is characterized by abnormal physiologic conditions such as hypoxia and acidic extracellular pH, generated largely by the chaotic tumor vasculature and lack...