The “metabolic sensor” function of the P2X7 receptor is of particular relevance at inflammatory and tumor sites since the extracellular ATP concentration in the inflammatory or tumor microenvironments (IME and TME, respectively) is several-fold higher than in the healthy interstitium (Pellegatti et al., 2008; Di Virgilio et al., 2018a). This evidence concerns the gene P2RX7 and neoplasm.