Stromal Tumour Interaction Group

Tumours are highly complex tissues and the non-neoplastic cell compartment of tumours, which is often termed the "stroma", is itself quite complex histologically. Carcinoma cells initially recruit and/or activate these various stromal non-neoplastic cells, including fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, immune cells, endothelial cells, bone marrow-derived cells, and etc. The resulting stromal cells reciprocate by fostering carcinoma cell growth and survival during the course of tumour progression.

Studying the heterotypic interactions between the neoplastic cells and the supporting stroma is believed to be essential for understanding nature of a bulk of carcinoma mass. However, such research fails to include and address another variable: that the stroma is itself altered and might co-evolve with the tumour cells during the course of tumour progression.