Stromal Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment. Review uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • The tumor microenvironment comprises a mass of heterogeneous cell types, including immune cells, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts, alongside cancer cells. It is increasingly becoming clear that the development of this support niche is critical to the continued uncontrolled growth of the cancer. The tumor microenvironment contributes to the maintenance of cancer stemness and also directly promotes angiogenesis, invasion, metastasis, and chronic inflammation. In this chapter, we describe on the role of fibroblasts, specifically termed cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), in the promotion and maintenance of cancers. CAFs have a multitude of effects on the growth and maintenance of cancer, and here we focus on their roles in modulating immune cells and responses; CAFs both inhibit immune cell access to the tumor microenvironment and inhibit their functions within the tumor. Finally, we describe the potential modulation of CAF function as an adjunct to bolster the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies.

publication date

  • January 1, 2018

Research

keywords

  • Stromal Cells
  • Tumor Microenvironment

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 85052711011

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1007/978-3-319-78127-3_6

PubMed ID

  • 30155624

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 1060