Cancer‑associated fibroblasts in human malignancies, with a particular emphasis on sarcomas (Review)

Over the course of the last 10 years, clinical oncology has seen significant changes. Although there has been much interest in targeting cancer cells with immunotherapy, the initial enthusiasm has waned as clinical trial results have not met the initial expectations, especially for solid tumors. As a result, research efforts are now shifting towards the study of other cells in the tumor microenvironment. Cancer‑associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are one of the main adversarial cell types that help cancer cells to resist oncological treatment. However, although CAFs have been extensively studied in different types of carcinomas, their role in sarcomas remains poorly understood. Despite this topic being of especial importance, to the best of the authors' knowledge, no literature review currently addresses and summarizes the up‑to‑date knowledge on the role of CAFs in sarcomas. The present review article aimed to address this literature gap by summarizing our current understanding of CAFs in carcinomas and integrating this information with what is currently known about CAFs in sarcomas. The review also suggested novel approaches for targeting CAFs, and outlines new avenues for identifying novel therapeutic targets, which may markedly impact future research in this field.