Publisher Summary This chapter describes various modes of interaction between malignant
cells and stroma. Malignant cells are shown to produce various lytic enzymes, which attack …

The tumor microenvironment plays an essential role in various stages of cancer
development. This environment, composed of the extracellular matrix, fibroblasts …

Maintenance of epithelial tissues needs the stroma. When the epithelium changes, the
stroma inevitably follows. In cancer, changes in the stroma drive invasion and metastasis …

Recently, a view of the tumor as a functional tissue interconnected with the
microenvironment has recently been described. For many years, the stroma has been …

The tumor microenvironment, composed of non‐cancer cells and their stroma, has become
recognized as a major factor influencing the growth of cancer. The microenvironment has …

For decades, pathologists have recognized that the stroma surrounding tumors is in many
cases altered with obvious changes in the cellular composition and the extracellular matrix …

Tumors are complex organs composed of reciprocally interacting cell types including cancer-
initiating cells, more or less differentiated cancer cells, extracellular matrix (ECM), and a …

Although the stroma in which carcinomas arise has been previously regarded as a
bystander to the clonal expansion and acquisition of malignant characteristics of tumor cells …

Increasing evidence indicates that tumor–stromal cell interactions have a crucial role in
tumor initiation and progression. These interactions modify cellular compartments, leading to …

Recent advances in tumor biology have identified the stroma as an important regulator of
carcinogenesis and potentially a valuable therapeutic target. While however the fact that by …