Abstract
It has become clear that carcinogenesis goes beyond tumor cell biology. Cancer research has acknowledged the importance of biological functions of the tumor-microenvironment, wherein not only cellular components seem to hold valuable information but also structural components like collagen fibers. Several studies have focused on the significance of stromal collagen fiber organization and reported on its role in cancer progression, invasiveness and treatment response. In this review, we discuss the different imaging methods for stromal collagen organization, followed by an in-depth discussion of current literature on in-vitro and animal experiments and human studies, highlighting its importance with respect to cancer progression, prognosis and prediction. We can conclude that collagen organization contains valuable information with regard to metastatic potential and clinical outcomes in cancer. However, the significance of an aligned versus disorganized collagen morphology differs between cancer types, implying more research is necessary before steps towards clinical implementation can be made.
Highlights
Cancer remains a worldwide health burden and leading cause of death, with an estimated 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million deaths in 2018 (Bray et al, 2018)
The results showed that the diffusion coefficient was 1.5 times higher in highly aligned collagen fibers parallel to the fiber direction compared to perpendicular arranged fibers (Stylianopoulos et al, 2010)
With this review we give a comprehensive overview of literature on the topic of stromal collagen organization in cancer tissue
Summary
Cancer remains a worldwide health burden and leading cause of death, with an estimated 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million deaths in 2018 (Bray et al, 2018). Cancer research focused on tumor cell biology, wherein the so-called hallmarks of cancer emphasized cancer cell associated biological aspects (i.e. sustained proliferative signaling, insensitivity to growth suppressors, cell death resistance, limitless replicative potential, sustained angiogenesis and tissue activation, invasion and metastasis) (Hanahan and Weinberg, 2000). This concept was revised almost a decade later (Hanahan and Weinberg, 2011), as the complexity of tumorigenesis had been recognized as a bidirectional communication between cancer cells and certain cell types within the tumor microenvironment. We give an overview of literature investigating this stromal organization, highlighting its significance within cancer progression, Abbreviations: 3D, three-dimensional; A:I, ratio anisotropic to isotropic ratio; ANN, artificial neural network; BIF, basic image features; CAFs, cancer associated fibroblasts; CRC, colorectal cancer; CRPC, castration-resistant prostate cancer; DCIS, ductal carcinomas in situ; DFS, disease-free survival; DSS, disease-specific survival; EAC, esophageal adenocarcinoma; ECM, extracellular matrix; EMT, epithelial–mesenchymal transition; ER, estrogen receptor; F/B, ratio forward to backward signal ratio; GLCM, gray-level co-occurrence matrix texture analysis; GLEM, gray level entropy matrix texture analysis; H&E, hematoxylin and eosin; HGS, high-grade serous; HNSCC, head & neck squamous cell carcinoma; IBC, invasive breast cancer; IDC, invasive ductal breast carcinoma; IHC, immunohistochemical staining; LBP, local binary patterns; MP-FRAP, multiphoton fluorescence recovery after photobleaching; MPLSM, multiphoton laser scanning microscopy; MPM, multiphoton microscopy; NSCLC, non-small cell lung cancer; OCT, optical coherence elastography/tomography; OS, overall survival; OSF, oral submucous fibrosis; PDAC, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; PLOD2, lysyl hydroxylase 2; PR, progesterone receptor; PSC, pancreatic stellate cells; PSR-POL, picrosirius red-polarization; SCC, squamous cell cancer; SHG, second harmonic generation; TACS, tumor-associated collagen signature; TEM, Transmission Electron Microscope; TMA, tissue microarray; TPEF, two-photon fluorescence; TTD, total traveled distance; WT, wildtype
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
