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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Oncol. Dec 24, 2025; 16(12): 111086
Published online Dec 24, 2025. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i12.111086
Published online Dec 24, 2025. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i12.111086
Provoking myofibroblast death: Strategies to resolve fibrosis and remodel tumor microenvironment
Thangavelu Shalini, Department of Biochemistry, University of Madras, Chennai 600025, Tamil Nādu, India
Ganapasam Sudhandiran, Cell Biology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, University of Madras, Chennai 600025, Tamil Nādu, India
Author contributions: Shalini T and Sudhandiran G contributed equally to the conception, literature collection, manuscript drafting, and critical revisions; and all authors approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ganapasam Sudhandiran, PhD, Professor, Cell Biology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai 600025, Tamil Nādu, India. sudhandiran@yahoo.com
Received: June 23, 2025
Revised: July 28, 2025
Accepted: November 13, 2025
Published online: December 24, 2025
Processing time: 183 Days and 21.2 Hours
Revised: July 28, 2025
Accepted: November 13, 2025
Published online: December 24, 2025
Processing time: 183 Days and 21.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Myofibroblasts are contractile cells that play a central role in both fibrosis and tumor progression due to their involvement in excessive extracellular matrix deposition and tissue stiffening. This article highlights emerging strategies to selectively inactivate or induce myofibroblast death, aiming to resolve fibrosis and remodel the tumor microenvironment. By exploring diverse disease models of fibrosis and cancer, this review underscores the therapeutic potential of targeting myofibroblasts to halt chronic tissue damage and improve cancer treatment outcomes.