Sund Malin, Kalluri Raghu
Division for Matrix Biology CLS 11087, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2009 Jun;28(1-2):177-83. doi: 10.1007/s10555-008-9175-2.
In recent years the importance of the tumor stroma for the development, promotion and invasion of cancer is becoming increasingly clear. Besides a malignantly transformed cancer cell, tumors also contains many other cell types, including endothelial cells, fibroblasts and cells of the immune system. These cells together with the cancer cells produce the sum extracellular matrix (ECM) of the tumor. The ECM and the non-malignant cells of the tumor are defined as the "tumor stroma". Just as the malignant cell itself can be the source of substances that can be used as biomarkers of cancer, the tumor stroma contains factors that potentially can be used as biomarkers when treating patients with cancer. In this review we will discuss the role of the tumor stroma as a source of new cancer biomarkers. This concept highlights a novel view of cancer and treats them as organized organs. Additionally, this further stresses the importance of including factors related to the tumor stroma into the diagnostic and therapeutic equation of cancer.
近年来,肿瘤基质在癌症发生、发展及侵袭过程中的重要性日益凸显。除了恶性转化的癌细胞外,肿瘤还包含许多其他细胞类型,包括内皮细胞、成纤维细胞和免疫系统细胞。这些细胞与癌细胞共同产生肿瘤的总体细胞外基质(ECM)。ECM和肿瘤中的非恶性细胞被定义为“肿瘤基质”。正如恶性细胞本身可以是用作癌症生物标志物的物质来源一样,肿瘤基质包含的因子在治疗癌症患者时有可能用作生物标志物。在本综述中,我们将讨论肿瘤基质作为新的癌症生物标志物来源的作用。这一概念突出了对癌症的全新认识,并将其视为有组织的器官。此外,这进一步强调了将与肿瘤基质相关的因素纳入癌症诊断和治疗方案的重要性。