Applications and prospects of spatial transcriptomics in prostate cancer research: A narrative review

Abstract

Spatial transcriptomics, an increasingly prominent technique, has been extensively utilized to examine tumors within the digestive tract (such as liver and colorectal cancers) and the nervous system. However, its application in prostate cancer research remains comparatively limited. This article provides a detailed overview of the principles and features of spatial transcriptomics, particularly highlighting its applications in studying the tumor microenvironment, heterogeneity, and clinical implications in prostate cancer. Through a systematic review and analysis of current literature, we identify the main focus areas and limitations of existing research on spatial transcriptomics and suggest potential future research directions.

Keywords

Prostate cancer / Spatial transcriptomics / Cancer research

Acknowledgments

None.

Statement of ethics

Not applicable.

Conflict of interest statement

No conflict of interest has been declared by the authors.

Funding source

This work was supported by funding from the Key R&D Projects of Hainan Province (grant ZDYF2021SHFZ243) and (grant ZDYF2021SHFZ094).

Author contributions

YJ, JC: Conceptualization, writing—original draft;

ZB, GW, YZ: Supervision, writing—review and editing.

Data availability

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

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