Social life of cancer cell

Increasing volume of data demonstrate important role cancer stem cells in tumor formation and spreading through organism. Because, the biology of normal tissue stem cells including the maintenance of their stemness is influenced by the surrounding microenvironment, the role of tumor microenvironment for its biology is also extensively studied. Based on results of many laboratories, the cancer stem cell niche has been placed to the tumor stroma. This tissue is rather heterogenic and it is composed from fibroblasts producing extraxcellular matrix, inflammatory cells and from the capillaries. The extensive crosstalk between stromal elements and cancer cells including stem cell pool is expectable. Among the stromal cells, the stromal fibroblasts seem to be of a great importance. Although, their origin is not clear, they are biologically active and they are able to influence the behavior of both the normal and cancer epithelial cells. The differences between both the normal and cancer stromal fibroblats were characterized using the cell biology and molecular genetics microarray approach. The obtained data indicate the importance of epithelial-mesenchymal interaction in tumor biology with therapeutic perspective in future.