Table 3.

TAM-associated factors and their targeted roles in cancers.

Factor	Cancer	Recipient	Influence on Tumor	Biochemical Mechanism	Ref.
Cytokines
IL-1β	HCC	Tumor	Promote tumor migration	NLRP3 dependent FAO/ROS/IL-1β axis	[123]
IL-6	CRC	Tumor	Promote tumor invasion and migration	Regulate JAK2/STAT3/miR-506-3p/FoxQ1 axis	[124]
	CRC	Tumor	Promote tumor invasion and migration	Activate the Wnt/β-catenin pathway	[125]
	BC	TAMs	Promote tumor development	Activate the gp130/STAT3 pathway	[126]
	HCC	Tumor	Promote tumor invasion and metastasis	Activate IL-6/ERK and STAT3 pathway	[127]
IL-8	OC	Tumor	Promote tumor stemness	Activate the IL-8/STAT3 pathway	[102]
IL-10	PC	Tumor	Promote tumor migration	Activate TLR4/IL-10 to express MMP2 and MMP9	[128]
	NSCLC	Tumor	Promote tumor invasion	Induce PD-L1 expression	[88]
	BC	DC	Attenuate CD8+ T-cell cytotoxicity	Decrease IL-12 expression	[129]
IL-23	KC	Treg	Promote tumor immune evasion	Increase IL-10, TGF-β expression, and Treg activity	[130]
	BC	TAMs	Promote tumor angiogenesis	Increase IL-10, TGF-β, VEGF expression	[131]
IL-34	CRC	TAMs	Promote tumor growth	Increase IL-6 expression	[132]
Chemokines
CCL2	BC	Tumor	Promote drug resistance	Activate the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway	[120]
CCL5	CRC	Tumor	Promote tumor immune escape	Activate the p65/STAT3-CSN5-PD-L1 pathway	[133]
CCL8	GBM	Tumor	Promote tumor invasion and stemness	Activate the ERK1/2 pathway	[101]
CXCL12	CRC	Tumor	Promote tumor angiogenesis	Activate the MK2 pathway	[134]
CCL18	BC	Tumor	Promote tumor invasion and metastasis	Activate the AnxA2/PI3K/Akt/GSK3β/Snail pathway	[135]
	BC	Tumor	Promote tumor metastasis	Activate the PKCδ/STAT3, NF-κB pathway	[136]
CCL20	CRC	Treg	Promote Treg recruitment	CCL20/CCR6 couple	[137]
CCL22	NSCLC	Treg	Promote Treg recruitment	Increase IL-8 expression	[138]
Others
TNF-α	BC	Tumor	Promote tumor EMT and migration	Increase cAMP and CREB expression	[86]
TGF-β	CRC	TAMs	Promote tumor proliferation	Increase RGC-32, COX2 expression	[139]
LSECtin	BC	Tumor	Promote tumor stemness	N/A	[100]
MIF	CRC	N/A	Promote tumor growth	Increase Tregs generation	[90]
	PDAC	N/A	Promote tumor metastasis	Activate AKT, ERK, and express cyclin-D1, MMP2	[140]
Xist	BC	TAMs	Promote tumor proliferation	lncRNA-Xist/miR-101-3p/KLF6/C/EBPα axis	[141]
ROS	CRC	N/A	Promote tumor proliferation	Activate NF-κB, AP-1, EGR-1	[142]
MCP-1	CRC	Tumor	Promote tumor growth, invasion	Activate the MK2 pathway	[92]
BMP-6	PC	TAMs	Promote tumor angiogenesis and growth	Increase IL-1a expression through Smad1, NF-κB	[143]
GPR35	CRC	Tumor	Promote tumor angiogenesis and growth	Na/K-ATPase-dependent ion pumping	[144]
CD206	CRC	N/A	Attenuate CD8+ T-cell cytotoxicity	Inhibit CD45 phosphatase activity	[145]
Oct4	LC	TAMs	Promote tumor growth	Increase M-CSF expression	[146]
Chi3L1	BC	Tumor	Promote tumor metastasis	Activate the CHI3L1/IL-13Rα2/ERK/JNK axis	[147]
RACK1	OSCC	TAMs	Promote tumor development	Regulate NF-κB pathway	[148]
GPNMB	BC	Tumor	Promote tumor stemness	Increase IL-33, CD44 expression	[116]
S100A9	HCC	Tumor	Promote tumor stemness	Activate AGER/NF-κB axis	[149]

OSCC: oral squamous cell carcinoma; KC: kidney cancer; COX2: cyclooxygenase 2; CtsZ: cathepsin Z; FRβ: folate receptor-beta; LCN-2: lipocalin 2; Xist: X inactive-specific transcript; VEGFR: vascular endothelial growth factor receptor; ROS: reactive oxygen species; MCP-1: monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; BMP-6: bone morphogenetic protein 6; GPR35: G protein-coupled receptor 35; Oct4: octamer-binding transcription factor 4; CTHRC1: collagen triple helix repeats containing 1; Chi3L1: chitinase 3-like protein 1; CD206: mannose receptor; RACK1: receptor for activated C kinase 1; GPNMB: glycoprotein NMB; IL-37: interleukin 37; α_mβ₂: α_mβ₂ integrin; CREB: cAMP response-binding protein; N/A: not applicable.