Formation and Remodeling of Immunological Niches in Tumors: Organ-Specific Mechanisms and Inflammatory Parallels: Volume II

After the success of our Research Topic Formation of Immunological Niches in Tumor Microenvironments: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential, we are pleased to launch a second volume of this collection, which will bring together recent developments in the field.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is not merely a collection of infiltrating immune cells, but a highly organized immunological ecosystem composed of spatially and functionally distinct niches. These niches, formed through complex interactions between tumor cells, stromal components, and immune subsets, critically shape anti-tumor immunity and therapeutic responsiveness. Recent studies have revealed that such immune niches are organ-specific, dynamic, and influenced by tissue-resident immune programs, as observed in brain and lung tumors.

Interestingly, several principles governing immune niche formation in tumors parallel those found in chronic inflammatory and degenerative diseases. For example, spatial immune reprogramming and microglial compartmentalization in neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease, reflect features seen in immunosuppressive tumor niches. Likewise, chronic pulmonary inflammation shares key remodeling events with lung cancer immune environments.

This Research Topic aims to deepen our understanding of how immune niches arise and evolve in tumors, and how mechanistic insights from other tissue-specific inflammatory settings might inform future oncology strategies. We try to explore the formation, maintenance, and remodeling of immunological niches in solid tumors, with an emphasis on organ-specific immune architectures and regulatory mechanisms. We aim to collect cutting-edge research and reviews that characterize spatial immune heterogeneity in tumors, decode niche-driven immune suppression, and investigate how chronic inflammation and neuroimmune interactions may offer mechanistic parallels to tumor immunology.

By integrating insights from different tissue contexts—particularly the brain and lung—this collection seeks to promote a broader understanding of how local environments influence tumor immunity, and how such knowledge can be leveraged for therapeutic innovation.

We welcome original research, reviews, and perspectives covering—but not limited to—the following topics:
1. Formation and spatial organization of immunological niches in solid tumors
2. Immune niches in brain tumors: glial–immune cell interactions and spatial microdomains
3. Tumor-associated immune compartments in lung cancer and their inflammatory precursors
4. Mechanisms of immune niche-mediated therapy resistance
5. Remodeling of tumor immune niches during immunotherapy
6. Technologies for mapping spatial immune heterogeneity (e.g., spatial transcriptomics, multiplex imaging)
7. Inflammatory parallels: what tumor immunology can learn from neurodegenerative and chronic pulmonary diseases
8. Strategies to therapeutically reprogram or target tumor immune niches


Please note: Manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics, computational analysis, or predictions of public databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent clinical or patient cohort, or biological validation in vitro or in vivo, which are not based on public databases) are not suitable for publication in this journal.

Keywords: tumor microenvironment, immune niches, brain tumors, lung cancer, spatial immunity, chronic inflammation, neuroimmune interactions, immune remodeling

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.