Cancer immunoediting in the melanoma tumor microenvironment: from immune elimination to therapeutic resistance

Abstract

Tumor immunoediting is a dynamic process of interaction between the host immune system and tumor cells and encompasses three sequential phases: elimination, equilibrium, and escape. It plays a central regulatory role in melanoma initiation, progression, and therapeutic response. Currently, increasing attention has been directed toward the complexity of the melanoma tumor microenvironment, in which functional dysregulation of immune cell subsets, imbalance of cytokine networks, and alterations in the metabolic milieu collectively drive the process of immunoediting. However, most existing studies have focused on individual phases or isolated factors, and a comprehensive understanding of the entire immunoediting process and its systematic associations with tumor heterogeneity and resistance to immunotherapy remains insufficient. This review summarizes recent advances in tumor immunoediting within the melanoma tumor microenvironment, with particular emphasis on the regulatory mechanisms through which individual components of the immune microenvironment influence different phases of immunoediting, providing a theoretical basis for optimizing melanoma immunotherapy and identifying novel therapeutic targets.