Eighteenth annual pezcoller symposium: tumor microenvironment and heterotypic interactions.

This symposium was held in Trento, Italy, from June 27 to 29, 2006, and was co-chaired by Robert Weinberg and Enrico Mihich. The interactions between tumor cells and their microenvironment were discussed with particular emphasis on their molecular mechanisms. The roles of transforming growth factor beta signaling, urokinase, and matrix metalloproteinases in matrix remodeling; the effects of matrix-tumor interactions on cell proliferation and migration; the tumor-promoting effects of inflammation and of related host cell and cytokine functions; the signaling mechanisms affecting the biology of the stroma; and the mechanisms governing angiogenesis were discussed.