Pancreatic cancer-associated myofibroblasts: a review
Banacki M., Inkielewicz-Stepniak I.
Narrative Review, published in Int J Biol Sci (2026) — summary generated from the PubMed abstract.
Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.
- Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
- Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
- Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
- Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
- Emerging · Emerging topic under active research
This page is generated from the PubMed record. The Thai description is an automated summary of bibliographic fields and the abstract, not a full translation, and is not medical advice.
- Study type
- Narrative Review
- Journal
- Int J Biol Sci (2026)
- Reported sample size
- —
- Source database
- Europe PMC
- PMID
- 41943847
- PMCID
- PMC13050441
- DOI
- 10.7150/ijbs.121234
Abstract (original English)
Pancreatic cancer is a very deadly disease, with no effective therapy currently employed in clinical practice, highlighting the urgent need for new therapeutic strategies. Cancer cells represent a minority within the pancreatic tumor, which is characterized by a pronounced stromal compartment. As fibrosis is characteristic of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the cell population of particular interest is the pancreatic cancer-associated myofibroblast population, observed to be the main extracellular matrix producers. Recent studies revealed a plurality of myofibroblast functions in the pancreatic tumor, beyond their role in matrix secretion: they were noted to promote cancer cell proliferation and invasiveness in in vitro and in vivo studies, and have been described as potential prognostic biomarkers, along with stromal collagen content. Moreover, myofibroblasts were found in precancerous pancreatic lesions, and may thus be involved in pancreatic carcinogenesis. Paradoxically, depletion of myofibroblasts had detrimental effects on the outcome in an in vivo study, and their precise role in the disease remains unclear. This review summarizes for the first time studies on pancreatic cancer-associated myofibroblasts, focusing on the origin, function, biomarker potential, and heterogeneity of these cells in the pancreatic tumor, aiming to elucidate their role in pancreatic cancer pr
What this study does not prove
- • This study does not prove SVF is an approved treatment or a replacement for standard care.
- • This is a narrative review: it collects no new patient data and does not systematically appraise evidence quality.
Evidence level
Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.
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