Selection of p53-Deficient Stromal Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment.

The tumor microenvironment is considered pro-oncogenic for reasons that, among others, involve the stimulation of cancer cell growth. However, little is known regarding how the tumor microenvironment affects the proliferation of stromal cells that coexist with cancer cells in the tumors. In the present study, we show that cancer cells trigger a paracrine response in normal fibroblasts that is not consistently mitogenic but may also become antimitogenic, inhibiting fibroblasts' proliferation in vitro.