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ONCOLOGY, NUCLEAR MEDICINE AND TRANSPLANTOLOGY
Review Article
Jun 26, 2026 6 6

Tumor–Immune Interactions in Prostate Cancer: Insights from Single-Cell and Spatial Genomics

Rita Onyebuchi Ogboh 1 * ,
Ejembi Bright 2,
Adebola Ayisat Effa 3,
Blessing Chinonye Okoro 4,
Anthony Kosisochukwu Anyabuoke 5
1 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Niger Delta University, Yenagoa, Nigeria2 Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria3 Department of Product Development and Quality Assurance, Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency, Lagos, Nigeria4 Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Imo State University, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria5 Department of Biology, Columbus State University, Columbus, GA, USA* Corresponding Author
Oncology, Nuclear Medicine and Transplantology, 2(2), 2026, onmt020, https://doi.org/10.63946/onmt/18860
Publication date: Jun 26, 2026
Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

Prostate cancer still remains one of the most common cancers in men worldwide, and it is a great therapeutic challenge, especially in the field of immunotherapeutics. The tumour microenvironment (TME) is immunologically “cold” in prostate cancer, and influenced by intrinsic molecular characteristics of the disease such as androgen receptor (AR) signalling, PTEN loss, and lineage plasticity towards neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC). Together, these aspects inhibit antigen presentation, block the entry of cytotoxic T cells and help to establish spatially organised immunosuppressive niches, providing a rational explanation for the clinical variability and partial efficacy of immune-based therapies.
Traditional bulk genomic approaches have provided important insights into tumour biology but are unable to capture the cellular and spatial complexity of tumour–immune interactions. These developments have been spurred by recent advancements in single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and spatial transcriptomics, which allow to detect individual cell subpopulations within intact tumour tissues, such as exhausted T cells co-expressing PD-1, TIM-3, LAG-3 and TIGIT, immunosuppressive SPP1+ macrophages and various cancer-associated fibroblast subpopulations. These technologies have identified specific immune exclusion sites, stromal–epithelial immune silencing barriers, and therapeutic resistance and immune evasion regulatory programs in the context of prostate cancer specifically.
However, there are still many technical challenges that need to be overcome, such as the lack of patient samples and their demographic diversity, data integration, lack of spatial characterisation of bone metastases and difficulties in clinical translation. Comprehensive multi-omics atlases, AI-driven spatial pattern recognition, functional validation of potential targets and prospective clinical trials based on biomarkers are all important areas for future research. They show significant potential for the creation of better, personalized immunotherapeutic treatment for prostate cancer.

KEYWORDS

Prostate Cancer Tumour Microenvironment Tumour–Immune Interactions Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Spatial Transcriptomics Androgen Receptor Signalling PTEN Loss T-Cell Exhaustion Immunotherapy Resistance Precision Oncology

CITATION (Vancouver)

Ogboh RO, Bright E, Effa AA, Okoro BC, Anyabuoke AK. Tumor–Immune Interactions in Prostate Cancer: Insights from Single-Cell and Spatial Genomics. Oncology, Nuclear Medicine and Transplantology. 2026;2(2):onmt020. https://doi.org/10.63946/onmt/18860
APA
Ogboh, R. O., Bright, E., Effa, A. A., Okoro, B. C., & Anyabuoke, A. K. (2026). Tumor–Immune Interactions in Prostate Cancer: Insights from Single-Cell and Spatial Genomics. Oncology, Nuclear Medicine and Transplantology, 2(2), onmt020. https://doi.org/10.63946/onmt/18860
Harvard
Ogboh, R. O., Bright, E., Effa, A. A., Okoro, B. C., and Anyabuoke, A. K. (2026). Tumor–Immune Interactions in Prostate Cancer: Insights from Single-Cell and Spatial Genomics. Oncology, Nuclear Medicine and Transplantology, 2(2), onmt020. https://doi.org/10.63946/onmt/18860
AMA
Ogboh RO, Bright E, Effa AA, Okoro BC, Anyabuoke AK. Tumor–Immune Interactions in Prostate Cancer: Insights from Single-Cell and Spatial Genomics. Oncology, Nuclear Medicine and Transplantology. 2026;2(2), onmt020. https://doi.org/10.63946/onmt/18860
Chicago
Ogboh, Rita Onyebuchi, Ejembi Bright, Adebola Ayisat Effa, Blessing Chinonye Okoro, and Anthony Kosisochukwu Anyabuoke. "Tumor–Immune Interactions in Prostate Cancer: Insights from Single-Cell and Spatial Genomics". Oncology, Nuclear Medicine and Transplantology 2026 2 no. 2 (2026): onmt020. https://doi.org/10.63946/onmt/18860
MLA
Ogboh, Rita Onyebuchi et al. "Tumor–Immune Interactions in Prostate Cancer: Insights from Single-Cell and Spatial Genomics". Oncology, Nuclear Medicine and Transplantology, vol. 2, no. 2, 2026, onmt020. https://doi.org/10.63946/onmt/18860

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