Cancer-associated fibroblasts and macrophages: Friendly conspirators for malignancy.

Inflammation, which is now recognized as an hallmark of cancer, is intimately linked to the reactivity of stromal ibroblasts. Accumulating evidence indicate that cancer-associated ibroblasts not only drive the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and metabolically sustain the growth of cancer cells, but also engage in a reciprocal relationship with M2 macrophages that dramatically boost malignancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]