胸腺是一个中央淋巴器官，在这里，成熟的T细胞的前体（称为胸腺细胞）经历分化为不同类型的成熟T细胞，最终迁移到外周，发挥特殊的效应功能，组织对抗肿瘤细胞、病原体和自身抗原的免疫应答。支持胸腺内T细胞分化的机制受到胸腺微环境中的基质细胞和发育中的胸腺细胞产生的胸腺肽激素和细胞因子的多向调节。有趣的是，与T细胞类似，胸腺激素（例如胸腺素、胸腺胺和胸腺POE）也可以循环影响外周的免疫细胞和其他细胞成分。关于胸腺功能如何影响肿瘤细胞生物学和癌症患者对治疗的反应的证据仍然不令人满意，尽管最近的研究提供了一些改善的知识。在这里，我们总结了胸腺介导的免疫内分泌对癌症的控制领域的研究进展，深入探讨了如何操纵胸腺微环境可以影响治疗结果，包括临床反应和治疗不良反应。我们回顾了从临床和临床前癌症研究获得的数据，以证明支持抗肿瘤免疫的免疫内分泌相互作用的复杂性。版权所有©2023年Savino和Lepletier。

The thymus gland is a central lymphoid organ in which developing T cell precursors, known as thymocytes, undergo differentiation into distinct type of mature T cells, ultimately migrating to the periphery where they exert specialized effector functions and orchestrate the immune responses against tumor cells, pathogens and self-antigens. The mechanisms supporting intrathymic T cell differentiation are pleiotropically regulated by thymic peptide hormones and cytokines produced by stromal cells in the thymic microenvironment and developing thymocytes. Interestingly, in the same way as T cells, thymic hormones (herein exemplified by thymosin, thymulin and thymopoietin), can circulate to impact immune cells and other cellular components in the periphery. Evidence on how thymic function influences tumor cell biology and response of patients with cancer to therapies remains unsatisfactory, although there has been some improvement in the knowledge provided by recent studies. Herein, we summarize research progression in the field of thymus-mediated immunoendocrine control of cancer, providing insights into how manipulation of the thymic microenvironment can influence treatment outcomes, including clinical responses and adverse effects of therapies. We review data obtained from clinical and preclinical cancer research to evidence the complexity of immunoendocrine interactions underpinning anti-tumor immunity.Copyright © 2023 Savino and Lepletier.