Exploring the Biology of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in Pancreatic Cancer.

ABSTRACT: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal malignancy characterised by a stubbornly low 5-year survival which is essentially unchanged in the past 5 decades. Despite recent advances in chemotherapy and surgical outcomes, progress continues to lag behind that of other cancers. The PDAC microenvironment is characterised by a dense, fibrotic stroma of which cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are key players. CAFs and fibrosis were initially thought to be uniformly tumour-promoting, however this doctrine is now being challenged by a wealth of evidence demonstrating CAF phenotypic and functional heterogeneity. Recent technological advances have allowed for the molecular profiling of the PDAC tumour microenvironment at exceptional detail, and these technologies are being leveraged at

SUBMITTER: Bryce AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9659154 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature