Cervical cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in women worldwide and is the leading cause of cancer death for women in developing countries. In research published in this week’s PLoS Medicine, Douglas Hanahan (University of California San Francisco, USA) and colleagues investigate how cell signaling in the stroma – the tissue that surrounds a tumor – plays a role in the progression of cervical cancer. Using a mouse model of cervical cancer, the researchers looked at a protein that is made by the tumor cells known as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). The research finds that the signaling in the stromal cells triggered by the release of this protein stimulates the growth of the tumor.
