Charting the tumor microenvironment with spatial profiling technologies

In recent years technologies that can achieve readouts at cellular resolution such as single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) have provided a comprehensive characterization of the cellular proportions and phenotypes that populate the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, because of the sample dissociation steps required by these protocols, they fail to capture information related to the intricate spatial context in which cells operate as well as their dense networks of interactions. Spatial profiling technologies have recently emerged as a valuable way to investigate the physical organization of cells crowding the TME in intact tissues. In this review we first discuss how spatial profiling technologies have propelled TME characterization, and then explore their potential to improve both diagnosis and prognosis for cancer patients in the clinic.