Figure 2.

Interactions between tumor infiltrating macrophages, cancer cells, and stromal cells via multiple immune factors in the esophageal cancer tumor microenvironment. (A) tumor infiltrating macrophages (TAMs) transform from an anti-tumor M1 phenotype to a pro-tumor M2 phenotype with tumor progression, under the influence of the transcription factor, GATA3, and cytokines, including IL-4, IL-6, and IL-13. (B) By producing various immune factors, or interacting with cancer cells and stromal cells to promote their release of associated components, TAMs are closely correlated with epithelial to mesenchymal transition, angiogenesis, cancer cell survival and migration, invasion depth, and lymph node metastasis, and generally predict poor prognosis and survival in patients with esophageal cancer.