Figure 1

Constituents of the tumor microenvironment. A mix of tumor cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts and inflammatory or immune cells permeate the microenvironment. These cells produce the extracellular matrix and an assortment of soluble factors. Cross-talk between the resident cell populations is further contributed to by the release and/or uptake of exosomes and microvesicles loaded with cargo that includes nucleic acids, proteins and metabolites.