The prognostic significance of cancer-associated fibroblasts in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) are activated fibroblasts in the cancer stroma and play an important role in cancer progression. Some reports have indicated the correlation between the expression of CAF markers and adverse prognosis in several cancers. However, no reports have studied CAF phenotype and its clinical relevance in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).