REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Mechanistic Roles of Neutrophil Heterogeneity in Tumour Pathogenesis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Affiliated Hospital of Putian University, Putian, China
- 2Putian University School of Basic Medicine, Putian, China
- 3Putian University Pharmaceutical and Medical Technology College, Putian, China
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Neutrophils are the body's primary responders to infection and injury, yet they also exert diverse effects within tumours through distinct subtypes and mechanisms of action. In light of persistent challenges in clinical oncology, including drug resistance, a research focus on neutrophil biology represents a promising frontier. This review examines neutrophil heterogeneity in cancer by exploring their developmental stages, tumour-specific mechanisms influencing progression, and established classification systems. It further highlights emerging neutrophil subpopulations identified across specific tumours and disease contexts, offering insights into their dual roles in pathogenesis. By integrating recent findings, this work provides a framework to guide drug development and clinical therapeutics in oncology and related pathologies.
Keywords: Neutrophils, heterogeneity, tumour, immune cells, therapy
Received: 09 Oct 2025; Accepted: 19 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lin, Liao, Chen, Chen, Chen, Wang and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhanfei Chen, zfchen@ptu.edu.cn
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