Abstract:

Tumor repopulation is the phenomenon of proliferation of residual tumor cells after cancer treatment, which is an important cause of treatment failure and tumor recurrence. The mechanism of tumor repopulation after radiotherapy or chemotherapy is extremely complex and is usually related to chemoradiotherapy-induced tumor cell death. After radiotherapy or chemotherapy, tumor cells may die in a variety of ways, including apoptosis, necrosis, autophagy, or pyroptosis. Studies have shown that tumor cell death may be associated with the tumor repopulation. On the one hand, they may directly affect the proliferation of residual tumor cells by regulating specific downstream signaling pathways. On the other hand, they may alter the functions of cancer-associated fibroblasts, immune cells, endothelial cells and other cells in the tumor microenvironment, then remodeling the tumor microenvironment in order to create conditions for the proliferation and metastasis of residual tumor cells. In this paper, we reviewed the relationship between tumor cell death and the repopulation of residual tumor cells after radiotherapy or chemotherapy, and analyzed the possible mechanisms of tumor repopulation from multiple perspectives, such as the mode of cell death and the tumor microenvironment, which is expected to provide a strategy for the prevention of cancer recurrence.

Key words: Cell death, Tumor repopulation, Tumor microenvironment, Cancer-associated fibroblasts, Immune cell, Endothelial cells