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Related Concept Videos

The Tumor Microenvironment02:17

The Tumor Microenvironment

Every normal cell or tissue is embedded in a complex local environment called stroma, consisting of different cell types, a basal membrane, and blood vessels. As normal cells mutate and develop into cancer cells, their local environment also changes to allow cancer progression. The tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of a complex cellular matrix of stromal cells and the developing tumor. The cross-talk between cancer cells and surrounding stromal cells is critical to disrupt normal tissue...
The Tumor Microenvironment02:17

The Tumor Microenvironment

Every normal cell or tissue is embedded in a complex local environment called stroma, consisting of different cell types, a basal membrane, and blood vessels. As normal cells mutate and develop into cancer cells, their local environment also changes to allow cancer progression. The tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of a complex cellular matrix of stromal cells and the developing tumor. The cross-talk between cancer cells and surrounding stromal cells is critical to disrupt normal tissue...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells02:53

Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells

Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells02:53

Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells

Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Tumor Progression02:07

Tumor Progression

Tumor progression is a phenomenon where the pre-formed tumor acquires successive mutations to become clinically more aggressive and malignant. In the 1950s, Foulds first described the stepwise progression of cancer cells through successive stages.
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell02:21

Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell

Cancer arises from mutations in the critical genes that allow healthy cells to escape cell cycle regulation and acquire the ability to proliferate indefinitely. Though originating from a single mutation event in one of the originator cells, cancer progresses when the mutant cell lines continue to gain more and more mutations, and finally, become malignant. For example, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) develops initially as a non-lethal increase in white blood cells, which progressively...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Generation of Heterogeneous Drug Gradients Across Cancer Populations on a Microfluidic Evolution Accelerator for Real-Time Observation
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Generation of Heterogeneous Drug Gradients Across Cancer Populations on a Microfluidic Evolution Accelerator for Real-Time Observation

Published on: September 19, 2019

Genetic changes in tumour microenvironments.

Ian Campbell1, Wen Qiu, Izhak Haviv

  • 1VBCRC Cancer Genetics Laboratory, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ian.campbellI@petermac.org

The Journal of Pathology
|February 5, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts do not acquire genetic mutations to promote cancer. Previous studies showing genetic alterations were likely due to experimental artifacts, not true biological changes.

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Last Updated: Jun 4, 2026

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Published on: June 26, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Biology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) exhibit distinct phenotypes compared to normal fibroblasts.
  • CAFs maintain a cancer-promoting phenotype in vitro, suggesting potential acquired genetic alterations.
  • Early studies reported high frequencies of somatic genetic alterations in CAFs, mimicking malignant epithelium.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the underlying mechanisms of phenotypic differences between CAFs and normal fibroblasts.
  • To determine if CAFs acquire somatic genetic alterations that contribute to their cancer-promoting properties.

Main Methods:

  • Review and critical analysis of previous molecular genetic studies on CAFs.
  • Evaluation of methodologies used in studies reporting clonal somatic alterations in CAFs.
  • Comparison of findings with established knowledge of genomic aberrations in cancer.

Main Results:

  • Subsequent molecular genetic studies found no consistent evidence of frequent genomic aberrations in CAFs.
  • Methodological issues, including poor DNA quality and PCR-based analyses, likely caused artifacts in earlier studies.
  • Clonal somatic mutations are not the biological basis for the cancer-promoting attributes of CAFs.

Conclusions:

  • The hypothesis that CAFs acquire somatic genetic alterations is not supported by current evidence.
  • Phenotypic differences in CAFs are not driven by clonal somatic mutations.
  • Artifacts in experimental techniques can lead to misinterpretation of genetic alterations in CAFs.