Improving drug delivery to pancreatic cancer: breaching the stromal fortress by targeting hyaluronic acid

[...]targeting stromal signalling pathways such as sonic hedgehog signalling has also shown promising preclinical effects, and the results of ongoing clinical trials are eagerly awaited. [...]other cellular and acellular stromal components should be explored as further potential targets, among them pancreatic stellate cells and activated stromal fibroblasts as major sources of the pancreatic stroma, as well as inflammatory cells, such as tumour-associated macrophages and other immune cells, 11 12 that are also involved in modulating tumour vasculature and matrix deposition. 13 Furthermore, stroma-related signalling pathways active in these cell types, such as the transforming growth factor β pathway, are promising candidates.