Circadian regulation of cancer cell and tumor microenvironment crosstalk

Circadian rhythms regulate a remarkable variety of physiologic functions in living organisms. Circadian disruption is associated with tumorigenesis and tumor progression through effects on cancer cell biological properties, including prolif-eration, DNA repair, apoptosis, metabolism, and stemness. Emerging evidence indicates that circadian clocks also play an influential role in the tumor micro-environment (TME). This review outlines recent discoveries on how cancer cell clock components (including circadian clock and clock genes/proteins) regulate TME biology and, reciprocally, how TME clock components affect tumor growth, metastasis, and therapeutic response. An improved understanding of how clock components regulate the symbiosis between cancer cells and the TME will inform the development of novel clock-oriented therapeutic strategies, including immunotherapy.

Automated summary

The article summarizes how circadian rhythms affect cancer cell biology and interact with the tumor microenvironment, discussing the mutual influence between cancer cells and the TME, and indicating that these studies can inform the development of novel clock-oriented therapeutic strategies.