This article is part of the supplement: Abstracts of the 16th International Charles Heidelberger Symposium on Cancer Research

Open Access Oral presentation

Tumor microenvironment controls the rate of cancer progression and metastasis

Raghu Kalluri

Author Affiliations

Division of Matrix Biology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215

BMC Proceedings 2010, 4(Suppl 2):O11 doi:10.1186/1753-6561-4-S2-O11


The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1753-6561/4/S2/O11


Published:24 September 2010

© 2010 Kalluri; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Oral presentation

Tumors are unorganized organs that contain many different cell types that communicate with cancer cells (Kalluri NRC 2006). The central goal of our laboratory is to evaluate the role of these non-cancer cells in cancer progression and metastasis. Cancer progression significantly depends on the influence of many different host cells. Whether such host responses are recruited to control cancer progression or further aid in tumor growth (or both) is still unclear. This lecture will highlight the role of extra-cellular matrix, angiogenesis, and mesenchymal cells in cancer progression and metastasis, and discuss treatment strategies.