ReviewCancer science2025
Targeting Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts: Eliminate or Reprogram?
Review in Cancer science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Immunosuppressive roles of pericytes in cancer disease: insights from a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Cancer-associated fibroblasts in therapeutic resistance of hepatocellular carcinoma: evidence, mechanisms, and translational implications.Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2026Review
- Role of lipid-associated fibroblasts and their signature genes FABP4, CD36 and ABCA8 in gastric cancer progression.Oncology letters · 2026Article
- Therapeutic targeting of cancer-associated fibroblasts with oncolytic virus in preclinical models of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.Molecular therapy. Oncology · 2026Article
- Protease inhibition: breaking the barriers of chemoresistance in cancer.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- Engineering the next generation of cellular therapies for solid tumors: multi-specific armored CARs and TME reprogramming strategies.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026Review
- Emergence of a mixed CAF population by FAP-CD3 T-cell engager limits therapeutic efficacy.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2026Article
- Integrative single-cell RNA-seq and transcriptomic analysis uncovers cellular heterogeneity and immunotherapy resistance mechanisms in colorectal cancer.Discover oncology · 2026Article
- Two Worlds, One Battle: How Bacteria and Malignancies Converge on Drug Resistance.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Cytokines and cancer-associated fibroblasts.Journal of hematology & oncology · 2026Review
- Mechanisms of Resistance and Synergy: The Role of Tumor Microenvironment in HER2-Low Breast Cancer Therapy.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Integrative bibliometrics and spatial transcriptomics identify CAF-associated genes and immune niches in hepatocellular carcinoma.Discover oncology · 2026Article
- ARNTL deregulation promotes ovarian cancer progression and metastasis by activating cancer-associated fibroblasts.Journal of ovarian research · 2026Article
- The research advances of crosstalk between cancer-associated fibroblasts and tumor cells using co-culture organoids.Cell death & disease · 2026Review
- Distinct immune microenvironments in ovarian cancer subtypes indicate potential for immunotherapies.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Stromal Defense Against Cancer: An Unprecedented Mechanism Limiting Cancer Invasion Into the Bone.Cancer science · 2026Review
- Harnessing cellular immunotherapy for cholangiocarcinoma: an integrated roadmap for overcoming resistance.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Nanomedicine for targeting cancer-associated fibroblasts in cancer therapy.Theranostics · 2026Review
- Cancer-associated fibroblasts as a potential therapeutic target for thyroid cancers.International journal of surgery (London, England) · 2026Review
- Cancer-associated fibroblasts at the crossroads of tumor progression and therapy resistance: from heterogeneity to precision reprogramming.Journal of the Egyptian National Cancer Institute · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are key components of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Given their various roles in tumor progression and treatment resistance, CAFs are promising therapeutic targets in cancer. The elimination of tumor-promoting CAFs has been investigated in various animal models to determine whether it effectively suppresses tumor growth. Based on recent evidence, several simple strategies have been proposed to eliminate tumor-promoting CAFs and attenuate these features. In addition, attention has focused on the critical role that CAFs play in the immunosuppressive TME. Therefore, the functional reprogramming of CAFs in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors has also been investigated as a possible therapeutic approach. However, although potential targets in CAFs have been widely characterized, the plasticity and heterogeneity of CAFs complicate the understanding of their properties and present difficulties for clinical application. Moreover, the identification of tumor-suppressive CAFs highlights the necessity for the development of therapeutic approaches that can distinguish and switch between tumor-promoting and tumor-suppressive CAFs in an appropriate manner. In this review, we introduce the origins and diversity of CAFs, their role in cancer, and current therapeutic strategies aimed at targeting CAFs, including ongoing clinical evaluations.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.