ReviewFrontiers in oncology2025
Cholesterol effects on the tumor immune microenvironment: from fundamental concepts to mechanisms and implications.
Review in Frontiers in oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Statins use and prognosis in lung cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: evidence from a meta-analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Pooled it
- Role of PCSK9 in hallmarks of cancer: From mechanisms to interventions (Review).Oncology letters · 2026Review
- Lipid metabolism and chromatin-associated sirtuin-dependent epigenetic reprogramming in cancer.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- Lactate as a Master Regulator of Immune Suppression: From Metabolic Waste to Epigenetic Checkpoint in Colorectal Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Endogenous metabolite signaling orchestrates tumor immune evasion.Cell insight · 2026Review
- Differential NAD + availability may drive asymmetric SIRT7 activity in tumor and immune cells.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- Cholesterol Reprogramming in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Integrating Tumor-Intrinsic Metabolism and Immune Crosstalk.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Obesity-derived metabolites modulate anti-tumor immunity in the tumor microenvironment: from mechanisms to clinical applications.BMC medicine · 2026Review
- From Chronic Inflammation to Cancer: The Role of Trained Immunity in IBD-Associated Colorectal Carcinogenesis.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Metabolic regulation of tumor-associated macrophage function and immunotherapy in cancer.Cancer biology & medicine · 2026Review
- Review
- Tumor microenvironment in gastric cancer immune tolerance and its therapeutic relevance in immunomodulation (Review).Oncology letters · 2026Review
- Revisiting cholesterol metabolism in hepatocellular carcinoma: a hidden driver of systemic therapy response.ESMO gastrointestinal oncology · 2026Review
- Review
- "Resolving the SCD1-oleic acid paradox: majority of oleic acid is converted to free cholesterol in colorectal cancer cells".Cancer cell international · 2026Article
- Salmonella typhimurium co-expressing cytolysin A and hyaluronidase suppresses tumor growth and metastasis.Cell death discovery · 2026Article
- Mast cell driven immunometabolism as a therapeutic entry point in ESCC.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Review
- Cholesterol metabolic rewiring shapes immune remodeling across hepatocarcinogenesis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- STARD3NL as a prognostic marker related to an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Benmelstobart+anlotinib: an emerging therapeutic option in the targeted-immunotherapy era.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In many cancers, the tumor microenvironment is enriched with cholesterol due to increased biosynthesis and uptake by cancer cells, resulting in the accumulation of cholesterol, cholesterol esters, oxysterols and other metabolites with various functions. These molecules serve as structural components, energy sources and intracellular signaling mediators, while their toxic by-products are secreted to suppress anti-tumor immune activity and prevent lipid peroxidation that could induce cancer cell apoptosis. Immune cells in the tumor microenvironment also contribute to cholesterol dynamics. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) release cholesterol to support tumor cell metabolism, while myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) also release cholesterol and consume essential metabolites such as L-arginine, which impairs T-cell proliferation and activation. Elevated cholesterol in dendritic cells impairs migration and tumor antigen presentation and, in lymphocytes, favors the development of a regulatory T cells (Treg) phenotype and inhibits the release of antitumor cytokines, further weakening the immune response. These findings suggest that targeting cholesterol metabolism is a promising strategy for cancer treatment, improving the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies. In this manuscript, the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of cholesterol on the tumor immune landscape are reviewed and the potential of cholesterol-lowering drugs to enhance antitumor immune responses is explored.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.