Page 11 - EJMO-9-2

Eurasian Journal of Medicine

and Oncology

REVIEW ARTICLE
Single-cell sequencing for lung cancer

research: Progress and prospects

Zhongsha Li 1,2,3,4† , Wei Su 1,2,3,4† , Bingbing Bai 1,2,3,4† , Yuesong Wu 1,2,3,4 ,
Baoyin Zhang 1,2,3,4 , Dejuan Xiang 1,2,3,4 , Gilwa Borjigin 1,2,3,4 , Jinhai Deng 1,2,3,4,5 ,
Jian Sun 1,2,3,4† * , and Mingzhu Yin 1,2,3,4† *
1 Clinical Research Center, Medical Pathology Center, Cancer Early Detection and Treatment
Center and Translational Medicine Research Center, Chongqing University Three Gorges Hospital,
Chongqing University, Wanzhou District, Chongqing, China
2 Chongqing Technical Innovation Center for Quality Evaluation and Identification of Authentic
Medicinal Herbs, Wanzhou District, Chongqing, China
3 Chongqing University Three Gorges Hospital and Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary
Technology, CQU-Ferenc Krausz Nobel Laureate Scientific Workstation, Chongqing, China
4 School of Medicine Chongqing University, Chongqing University, Shapingba District, Chongqing,
China
5 Richard Dimbleby Department of Cancer Research, Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Kings College
London, London, United Kingdom
† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract
*Corresponding authors:
Mingzhu Yin Lung cancer exhibits high morbidity and mortality rates, characterized by
(yinmingzhu@cqu.edu.cn) a heterogeneous genetic landscape and an immunosuppressive tumor
Jian Sun
(sunjian@cqu.edu.cn) microenvironment, despite recent therapeutic advances. High-resolution single-
cell sequencing has facilitated a comprehensive analysis of malignant and host cell
Citation: Li Z, Su W, Bai B, et al.
Single-cell sequencing for lung types, enhancing the understanding of lung cancer’s heterogeneity and adaptability
cancer research: Progress and under basal conditions and in response to therapeutic intervention. In this review,
prospects. Eurasian J Med Oncol. we provide an overview of the utilization of single-cell sequencing technology in
2025;9(2):3-16.
doi: 10.36922/ejmo.6883 characterizing the microenvironment of lung cancer, facilitating early diagnosis,
monitoring tumor progression, and elucidating mechanisms of drug resistance,
Received: December 3, 2024 thereby offering new insights into potential therapeutic interventions.
1st revised: December 31, 2024
2nd revised: February 12, 2025 Keywords: Single-cell sequencing; Lung cancer; Heterogeneity; Tumor
Accepted: February 27, 2025 microenvironment; Drug resistance; Circulating tumor cells
Published online: March 12, 2025
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article 1. Introduction
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution The high incidence and metastasis rates of lung cancer continue to pose significant
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, health challenges and are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally, with an
1
provided the original work is estimated 2 million new cases and 1.76 million deaths/year. The poor prognosis of lung
properly cited. cancer is largely attributed to clinical factors, including late-stage diagnosis, high rate of
2-4
Publisher’s Note: AccScience metastasis, frequent recurrence, and the development of secondary drug resistance.
Publishing remains neutral with In the past, the management of advanced lung cancer primarily relied on cytotoxic
regard to jurisdictional claims in 5
published maps and institutional chemotherapy. However, in recent decades, significant advancements in therapeutic
affiliations. strategies have emerged, driven by the discovery of oncogenic driver mutations in

Volume 9 Issue 2 (2025) 3 doi: 10.36922/ejmo.6883