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PMID: 24216702 Published · epublish English Journal Article

Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts are a promising therapeutic target.

Cancers ·Vol. 5 ·No. 1 ·2013-01-31 ·Pages 149-69

Togo S, Polanska UM, Horimoto Y, Orimo A

Abstract

Human carcinomas frequently exhibit significant stromal reactions such as the so-called "desmoplastic stroma" or "reactive stroma", which is characterised by the existence of large numbers of stromal cells and extracellular matrix proteins. Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which are rich in activated fibroblast populations exemplified by myofibroblasts, are among the predominant cell types present within the tumour-associated stroma. Increased numbers of stromal myofibroblasts are often associated with high-grade malignancies with poor prognoses in humans. CAF myofibroblasts possess abilities to promote primary tumour development, growth and progression by stimulating the processes of neoangiogenesis as well as tumour cell proliferation, survival, migration and invasion. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that CAFs serve as a niche supporting the metastatic colonisation of disseminated carcinoma cells in distant organs. Their contribution to primary and secondary malignancies makes these fibroblasts a potential therapeutic target and they also appear to be relevant to the development of drug resistance and tumour recurrence. This review summarises our current knowledge of tumour-promoting CAFs and discusses the therapeutic feasibility of targeting these cells as well as disrupting heterotypic interactions with other cell types in tumours that may improve the efficacy of current anti-tumour therapies.

Authors & Affiliations
4 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Togo Shinsaku
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo 113-8412, Japan. [email protected].
Polanska Urszula M
Horimoto Yoshiya
Orimo Akira
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Article Info
Journal
Cancers
Abbr.
Cancers (Basel)
ISSN
2072-6694
DOI
10.3390/cancers5010149
Email
[email protected]
Published
2013-01-31
Epub
2013-00-31
Pages
149-69
Language
English
Region
Switzerland
NLM ID
101526829
PMCID
PMC3730310
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.3390/cancers5010149 PMC Full Text View journal details
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