Hypoxia and its impact on the tumour microenvironment of gastroesophageal cancers

Figure 1 The components of the tumour microenvironment are affected by hypoxia in numerous ways. Important cellular components of the tumour microenvironment include immune cells including macrophages, dendritic cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, T cells, natural killer cells, as well as cancer-associated fibroblasts. Non-cellular aspects include the extracellular matrix and signalling molecules such as vascular endothelial growth factor, adenosine, and cytokines and chemokines including interleukin-6, interferon-γ, CXCL1, CXCL3, CCL28[12-14,40]. CAF: Cancer associated fibroblasts; OxPhos: Oxidative phosphorylation; ROS: Reactive oxygen species; VEGF: Vascular endothelial growth factor; NFκB: Nuclear factor-kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells; HIF: Hypoxia inducible factor; ECM: Extracellular matrix; EMT: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition.