Abstract
The concept of cellular neighborhoods, defined as recurring structures within the tissue with characteristic cell compositions and interactions, has transformed our understanding of the complexity and dynamics of tumor ecosystems. Recent advances in spatial omics and computational modeling have enabled high-resolution mapping of these neighborhoods, providing unprecedented insights into their roles in shaping tumor heterogeneity, evolution and therapeutic responses. Despite these advances, a unified framework for interpreting cellular neighborhoods remains lacking. This Perspective synthesizes emerging concepts and insights, focusing on the definition and classification of cellular neighborhoods in cancer, computational methods for identifying and comparing them, and their clinical relevance.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award numbers U2C CA233285 and U54HL165442 (K.T.). L.M. was supported by grants (ZIA BC 012079 and ZIA BC 012083) from the Intramural Research Program of the Center for Cancer Research, US National Cancer Institute. B.X. was supported by NIH grant F30CA298606. K.T. holds the Richard and Sheila Sanford Endowed Chair at CHOP. This research was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH. The contributions of the NIH authors were made as part of their official duties as NIH federal employees, are in compliance with agency policy requirements and are considered works of the US government. However, the findings and conclusions presented in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NIH or the US Department of Health and Human Services.
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Ma, L., Xiong, B., Liu, M. et al. Cellular neighborhoods in cancer. Nat Cancer 7, 16–28 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-025-01107-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-025-01107-w
