Connective tissue as an active participant in the process of malignant growth.

This review deals with the different ways connective tissue stroma is involved both in carcinogenesis and cancer growth. Changes may be regressive or productive, of a quantitative or a qualitative nature. Both cells and extracellular matrix exhibit profound alterations. To explain the diversity of involvement it is argued that tumour cells and stroma form an integrated system that also in malignancy reacts as an entity by virtue of its many functional interrelationships.