Potential targets for renal cell carcinoma therapy: Mechanistic research and prospects of CAFs in renal cell carcinoma

Abstract Cancer‐associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are one of the core regulators of the tumor microenvironment, exhibiting high heterogeneity in terms of phenotype and molecular marker expression. Studies have shown that during the progression of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), CAFs play crucial roles in promoting the proliferation and survival of tumor cells, facilitating tumor invasion and metastasis, and regulating immunity. Currently, the main treatment for RCC is surgical intervention. With the emergence of systemic targeted therapy and immunotherapy, the survival rate of RCC patients has increased significantly, yet the overall outcome remains suboptimal. To achieve new breakthroughs in RCC treatment strategies and efficacy, research on CAFs is expected to become the next key focus. In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in studies on CAFs, and in the field of RCC, research on CAFs has also made some progress, leading to a clearer understanding of the mechanism of action of CAFs in RCC. This article reviews the existing studies related to CAFs in the field of RCC, briefly summarizes the currently widely recognized origin, phenotypic characteristics, and biological functions of CAFs in RCC progression. And we believe that CAFs are of great significance in advancing the basic and clinical research on RCC and developing new therapeutic strategies.