Dangerous liaisons: Pancreatic stellate cells and pancreatic cancer cells

One of the characteristic features of the majority of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas is an abundant desmoplastic/stromal reaction. Until recently, this stroma had received little attention from researchers studying the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer, with most of the research focus resting on the biology of tumor cells themselves. However, evidence is now accumulating that the stroma plays a critical role in pancreatic cancer progression....