Vascular reprogramming in cancer: engineering the tumor microenvironment.

Authors

Yusuke Nishimura

Published in

Human cell. Volume 39. Issue 7. Jul 05, 2026. Epub Jul 05, 2026.

Abstract

Tumor vasculature has traditionally been viewed as structurally and functionally abnormal and, therefore, is primarily targeted for inhibition. However, emerging evidence from vascular biology, regenerative medicine, and bioengineering challenges this paradigm, demonstrating that blood vessels actively instruct and shape the tumor microenvironment. Here, we propose that tumor vasculature functions as a dynamic and programmable interface that regulates cancer progression and define vascular reprogramming as a therapeutic strategy to actively redesign vascular structure, function, and signaling to control the tumor ecosystem. By integrating recent advances in endothelial cell heterogeneity, vascular niche biology, and multiscale modeling, we illustrate how tumor vessels govern cancer stemness, immune-cell trafficking, and metabolic adaptation, positioning the vasculature as a central regulatory hub rather than a passive conduit. We further highlight enabling technologies, including vascularized organoids, organ-on-a-chip systems, and iPSC-derived vasculature, that enable the precise reconstruction and manipulation of human vascular microenvironments, providing unprecedented opportunities to experimentally control vascular dynamics. Importantly, we distinguish vascular reprogramming from conventional anti-angiogenic and normalization strategies, emphasizing its potential to achieve sustained and integrative control of the tumor microenvironment. By modulating vascular permeability, perfusion, and immunoregulatory signaling, this approach enhances drug delivery, improves immune infiltration, and increases therapeutic sensitivity. Finally, we discuss the key challenges for clinical translation, including safety, scalability, and model limitations, and highlight future directions driven by spatial omics and artificial intelligence. Collectively, this framework establishes tumor vasculature as a designable therapeutic interface and advances a new paradigm in cancer therapy: not merely targeting the tumor microenvironment but engineering it through vascular control.

PMID:
42402079
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 05 Jul 2026.

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