Tumor microenvironment

✍ Scribed by Suresh Mohla

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 53 KB
• Volume: 101
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0730-2312
• DOI: 10.1002/jcb.21320

✦ Synopsis

It is my privilege to be the Guest Editor of this special edition of the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry Prospects Series focused on the ''Tumor Microenvironment.''

It is now well recognized that complex intrinsic and extrinsic influences transform a normal epithelial cell into a malignant one. Enormous advances have been made over the last several decades in identifying the molecular and genetic changes associated with this malignant transformation. This has led to the identification of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes and associated signaling mechanisms that modulate growth, survival, and proliferation. These studies have generated novel therapeutic reagents such as tamoxifen, herceptin, and gleevec, all of which target the cancer cell.

Recent research on tumor-host interactions collectively reveals that: (a) tumors are not masses of autonomous cells but function like organs composed of many interdependent cell types that contribute to tumor development and metastasis, (b) the interactions between the tumors and their microenvironments are bidirectional and dynamic, and (c) the tumor and its stroma co-evolve during tumor initiation and progression. The microenvironment is composed of stromal cells that include fibroblasts, immune and inflammatory cells, adipocytes, glial cells, smooth muscle cells, and resident and recruited vascular cells. It also includes the extracellular matrix, growth factors/cytokines, and other proteins produced locally and/or systemically. Microbial flora may also be present in the microenvironment.