Heterogeneity of cancer-associated fibroblasts in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: opportunities and challenges.

ABSTRACT: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is among the most severe and complex malignant diseases with a high level of heterogeneity and, as a result, a wide range of therapeutic responses, regardless of clinical stage. Tumor progression depends on ongoing co-evolution and cross-talk with the tumor microenvironment (TME). In particular, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), embedded in the extracellular matrix (ECM), induce tumor growth and survival by interacting with tumor cells. Origin of CAFs is quite varied, and the activation patterns of CAFs are also heterogeneous. Crucially, the heterogeneity of CAFs appears to play a key role in ongoing tumor expansion, including facilitating proliferation, enhancing angiogenesis and invasion, and promoting therapy resistance, through the prod

SUBMITTER: Hu C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10102018 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature