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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

A Mimic of the Tumor Microenvironment: A Simple Method for Generating Enriched Cell Populations and Investigating Intercellular Communication
09:52

A Mimic of the Tumor Microenvironment: A Simple Method for Generating Enriched Cell Populations and Investigating Intercellular Communication

Published on: September 20, 2016

Stromal cells can contribute oncogenic signals

T D Tlsty1

  • 1Department of Pathology, UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco 94143-0506, USA. ttlsty@itsa.ucsf.edu

Seminars in Cancer Biology
|April 27, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Stromal cells, not just cancer cells, can initiate and drive neoplastic transformation. This review explores how the tumor microenvironment, specifically stromal cells, influences epithelial components to promote cancer development.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Cell Biology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Neoplastic transformation research traditionally focuses on intracellular events within cancer cells.
  • These cell-autonomous events disrupt critical cellular functions like proliferation, apoptosis, motility, and genome stability.
  • The tumor microenvironment's role in supporting tumor progression is increasingly recognized.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the transforming effects of stromal cells on epithelial components.
  • To highlight recent insights into the initiation and progression of malignant cells driven by the microenvironment.
  • To shift focus from cell-autonomous events to microenvironment-driven carcinogenesis.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies on neoplastic transformation and tumor microenvironment.
  • Synthesis of recent research on stromal-epithelial interactions in cancer.
  • Analysis of molecular pathways influenced by stromal cells.

Main Results:

  • Stromal cells actively contribute to neoplastic transformation, not just support it.
  • Interactions between stromal and epithelial cells are crucial for cancer initiation and progression.
  • The tumor microenvironment offers novel targets for cancer therapy.

Conclusions:

  • Stromal cells possess transforming capabilities that impact epithelial components.
  • Understanding these stromal-epithelial interactions is key to deciphering cancer development.
  • Future research should further investigate the microenvironment's role in oncogenesis.
Keywords:
NASA Discipline Radiation HealthNon-NASA Center

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