Mesenchymal-epithelial interaction is important in the morphogenesis of squamous epithelia and their appendages, and in the control of the hair cycle postnatally. This review summarizes data regarding the interaction between stromal fibroblasts and tumor cells, with an emphasis on tumors originating from squamous epithelium. Tumor stromal fibroblasts as important element of the cancer stem cell niche are able to participate in the control of the biological properties of tumors. We propose these stromal cells and their products as novel targets for anticancer therapy.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Institute of Anatomy Center of Cell Therapy and Tissue Repair Charles University Prague Prague Czech Republic

Gamma smooth muscle actin as a new potential marker of cancer-associated fibroblasts

Cold, Hot, and Lethal-The Tumour Microenvironment and the Immunology of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

The HOX code of human adult fibroblasts reflects their ectomesenchymal or mesodermal origin

IL-6 in the Ecosystem of Head and Neck Cancer: Possible Therapeutic Perspectives

Sensitivity to Cisplatin in Head and Neck Cancer Cells Is Significantly Affected by Patient-Derived Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts

How Signaling Molecules Regulate Tumor Microenvironment: Parallels to Wound Repair

Cancer Microenvironment: What Can We Learn from the Stem Cell Niche

Cancer-associated fibroblasts are not formed from cancer cells by epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in nu/nu mice

Melanoma cells influence the differentiation pattern of human epidermal keratinocytes

Fibroblasts prepared from different types of malignant tumors stimulate expression of luminal marker keratin 8 in the EM-G3 breast cancer cell line