Hypoxia exerts a profound impact on diverse aspects of cancer biology. Increasing evidence has revealed novel functions of hypoxia in cancer cell epigenomics, epitranscriptomics, metabolism, and intercellular communication, all hotspots of cancer research. Several drugs have been developed to target intratumoral hypoxia and have entered clinical trials to treat refractory tumors. However, direct targeting of hypoxia signaling still has limitations in the clinic with regard to cancer progression and resistance to therapy. Comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which hypoxia reshapes tumors and their microenvironment, as well as how tumor cells adapt to and thrive in hypoxic conditions, will therefore continue to be a focus of cancer research and will provide new directions for hypoxic tumor treatment.

缺氧对癌症生物学的各个方面都产生了深远的影响。越来越多的证据揭示了缺氧在癌细胞基因组学，表观转录组学，新陈代谢和细胞间通讯等所有新的癌症研究热点中的新功能。已经开发了针对肿瘤内缺氧的几种药物，并已进入治疗难治性肿瘤的临床试验。然而，就癌症进展和对治疗的抵抗性而言，直接靶向低氧信号在临床上仍然有局限性。因此，对缺氧重塑肿瘤及其微环境的分子机制以及肿瘤细胞在低氧条件下如何适应和壮成长的全面理解将继续成为癌症研究的重点，并将为低氧肿瘤治疗提供新的方向。