Impact of tumour microenvironment in governing invasion, growth, and metastasis

Abstract The tumour microenvironment is increasingly believed to be critical in terms of a tumour’s ability to grow and thrive, and also in terms of our ability to effectively counteract the tumour with active agents. More is being learnt each year about the way a tumour influences its own immediate environment and in the way that the environment also influences the tumour. It is becoming increasingly clear that if we only target specific pathways within a tumour, without considering the tumour microenvironment, then the impact of our treatment upon the tumour will be severely compromised. This chapter explains more about the tumour microenvironment and attempts to explore how we may be able to modulate it for positive benefit.