Lin et al. elucidated that in osteosarcoma, MerTK-mediated phagocytosis promotes macrophage M2 polarization and PD-L1 expression via the p38/STAT3 pathway, intensifying immune tolerance and tumor progression, emphasizing the adverse impact of M2 polarization in increasing tumor aggressiveness (Lin et al., 2022). This evidence concerns the gene MERTK and neoplasm.