AUTHOR=Wu Yang , Zhang Chun , Jiang Kuirong , Werner Jens , Bazhin Alexandr V. , D’Haese Jan G. 

TITLE=The Role of Stellate Cells in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Targeting Perspectives

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2020.621937

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2020.621937

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<p>Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a gastrointestinal malignancy with a dismal clinical outcome. Accumulating evidence suggests that activated pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs), the major producers of extracellular matrix (ECM), drive the severe stromal/desmoplastic reaction in PDAC. Furthermore, the crosstalk among PSCs, pancreatic cancer cells (PCCs) as well as other stroma cells can establish a growth-supportive tumor microenvironment (TME) of PDAC, thereby enhancing tumor growth, metastasis, and chemoresistance <italic>via</italic> various pathways. Recently, targeting stroma has emerged as a promising strategy for PDAC therapy, and several novel strategies have been proposed. The aim of our study is to give a profound review of the role of PSCs in PDAC progression and recent advances in stroma-targeting strategies.</p>