The Role of Cancer Associated Fibroblast (CAF) in EMT/Metastasis in Malignancies of Epithelial Tissues

The tumor microenvironment consists of the blood vessels, matrix, and cells surrounding a tumor. It interacts closely with the tumor and has been recognized to be just as important as the tumor itself when considering the characteristics of cancer. Cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are a heterogenous group of cells which make up part of the tumor microenvironment. These have been shown to be associated with many aspects of cancer, including tumor progression, metastasis, therapy resistance, and disease recurrence.

Delineating the sub-populations of CAFs and their specific functions is crucial in further understanding cancer and developing CAF-targeted therapies. With single-cell omics, it is now easier than before to achieve this. This research topic therefore wishes to collect recent breakthroughs in this field to further characterize sub-populations of CAFs and their roles in EMT/Metastasis.

Of particular interest are submissions that focus on malignancies in epithelial tissues and investigate following suggested sub topics:

• Signaling pathways active in CAFs
• Characterization of CAF subpopulations
• Cross talk between CAFs and tumor cells that promote tumor progression/metastasis
• Cross talk between CAFs and the ECM that promote tumor progression/metastasis
• Novel therapies targeting (subpopulations of) CAFs