Affiliation
Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Unit, University of Manchester, Manchester M20 4BX, England, UK.Issue Date
2012-02-20
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The local microenvironment, or niche, of a cancer cell plays important roles in cancer development. A major component of the niche is the extracellular matrix (ECM), a complex network of macromolecules with distinctive physical, biochemical, and biomechanical properties. Although tightly controlled during embryonic development and organ homeostasis, the ECM is commonly deregulated and becomes disorganized in diseases such as cancer. Abnormal ECM affects cancer progression by directly promoting cellular transformation and metastasis. Importantly, however, ECM anomalies also deregulate behavior of stromal cells, facilitate tumor-associated angiogenesis and inflammation, and thus lead to generation of a tumorigenic microenvironment. Understanding how ECM composition and topography are maintained and how their deregulation influences cancer progression may help develop new therapeutic interventions by targeting the tumor niche.Citation
The extracellular matrix: a dynamic niche in cancer progression. 2012, 196 (4):395-406 J Cell BiolJournal
Journal of Cell BiologyDOI
10.1083/jcb.201102147PubMed ID
22351925Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
1540-8140ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1083/jcb.201102147