Targeting the Reactive Stroma Niche in Prostate Cancer
Abstract:
The tumor microenvironment reactive stroma niche in prostate cancer remains poorly understood, yet the biology of this stroma has potent tumor regulatory functions. The origin of reactive stroma and the mechanisms through which reactive stroma regulates carcinoma progression are not known. Accordingly, the purpose of this project is to deduce the origin and ontogeny of reactive stroma progenitor cells in prostate cancer. It is our hypothesis that reactive stroma is recruited from both local and circulating progenitor cells. The goal of this research is to establish whether reactive stroma recruitment to the cancer foci can be used as a novel therapeutic targeting point. The long-range goal is to target reactive stroma recruitment as a novel therapeutic for the treatment of prostate cancer in order to disrupt the biology of the reactive stroma niche and therefore alter the progression of the cancer.