EDITORIAL article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
This article is part of the Research TopicDeciphering Macrophage Polarization/Transition in Human Inflammatory Disease and CancerView all 12 articles
Editorial: Deciphering Macrophage Polarization/Transition in Human Inflammatory Disease and Cancer
Provisionally accepted
- 1Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan
- 2Universita degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- 3National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
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Several studies emphasize the clinical and prognostic relevance of macrophage heterogeneity in cancer. Cao et al. used a combination of transcriptomic profiling and computational modelling to identify gene signatures associated with macrophages that can be used to predict patient outcomes in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1612262). This highlights the prognostic and functional importance of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs Collectively, the contributions to this Research Topic reinforce several unifying principles. Macrophage polarization is dynamic and context-dependent, with close links to local microenvironmental cues. Advanced methodologies, including single-cell transcriptomics, integrative bioinformatics and functional validation, are essential for understanding macrophage heterogeneity and translating mechanistic insights into clinical applications. Integrating basic, translational, and clinical perspectives, this collection provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advances and challenges in macrophage polarization research, setting the scene for future macrophage-targeted therapeutic strategies.
Keywords: applications, Cancer, Inflammation, macrophage, polarization
Received: 05 Feb 2026; Accepted: 09 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Chang, Chiang, Fiorcari and Chang. 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: Yu-Chan Chang
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