TY - JOUR
T1 - Breast cancer-associated fibroblasts
T2 - Where we are and where we need to go
AU - Buchsbaum, Rachel J.
AU - Oh, Sun Young
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
PY - 2016/1/27
Y1 - 2016/1/27
N2 - Cancers are heterogeneous tissues comprised of multiple components, including tumor cells and microenvironment cells. The tumor microenvironment has a critical role in tumor progression. The tumor microenvironment is comprised of various cell types, including fibroblasts, macrophages and immune cells, as well as extracellular matrix and various cytokines and growth factors. Fibroblasts are the predominant cell type in the tumor microenvironment. However, neither the derivation of tissue-specific cancer-associated fibroblasts nor markers of tissue-specific cancer-associated fibroblasts are well defined. Despite these uncertainties it is increasingly apparent that cancer-associated fibroblasts have a crucial role in tumor progression. In breast cancer, there is evolving evidence showing that breast cancer-associated fibroblasts are actively involved in breast cancer initiation, proliferation, invasion and metastasis. Breast cancer-associated fibroblasts also play a critical role in metabolic reprogramming of the tumor microenvironment and therapy resistance. This review summarizes the current understanding of breast cancer-associated fibroblasts.
AB - Cancers are heterogeneous tissues comprised of multiple components, including tumor cells and microenvironment cells. The tumor microenvironment has a critical role in tumor progression. The tumor microenvironment is comprised of various cell types, including fibroblasts, macrophages and immune cells, as well as extracellular matrix and various cytokines and growth factors. Fibroblasts are the predominant cell type in the tumor microenvironment. However, neither the derivation of tissue-specific cancer-associated fibroblasts nor markers of tissue-specific cancer-associated fibroblasts are well defined. Despite these uncertainties it is increasingly apparent that cancer-associated fibroblasts have a crucial role in tumor progression. In breast cancer, there is evolving evidence showing that breast cancer-associated fibroblasts are actively involved in breast cancer initiation, proliferation, invasion and metastasis. Breast cancer-associated fibroblasts also play a critical role in metabolic reprogramming of the tumor microenvironment and therapy resistance. This review summarizes the current understanding of breast cancer-associated fibroblasts.
KW - Breast cancer
KW - Cancer-associated fibroblasts
KW - Tumor microenvironment
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U2 - 10.3390/cancers8020019
DO - 10.3390/cancers8020019
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:84956954703
SN - 2072-6694
VL - 8
JO - Cancers
JF - Cancers
IS - 2
M1 - 19
ER -