The implications of a tumor microenvironment in cancer initiation and progression have drawn interest in recent years. Within the tumor stroma, fibroblasts represent a predominant cell type and are responsible for the majority of extracellular components within the tumor microenvironment, such as matrix and soluble factors. A switch from quiescent fibroblasts to cancer-associated fibroblasts triggers a large variety of pro-tumorigenic signals that support tumor progression and shape the surrounding pathological stroma, with the remodeling of tissue architecture and repression of the local immune response. The heterogeneous nature of cancer-associated fibroblasts and their multiple functions are subject of active research as they could represent promising targets for cutting-edge therapeutic approaches to cancer and the tumor microenvironment.
Keywords: Cancer treatment; Cancer-associated fibroblasts; Cancer-stroma crosstalk; Chemoresistance; Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition; Extracellular matrix remodeling; Immunosuppression; Pro-tumorigenic cytokines; Targeted therapy; Tumor microenvironment; Tumor neoangiogenesis.