It is well accepted that the tumor microenvironment plays a pivotal role in cancer onset, development, and progression. The majority of clinical interventions are designed to target either cancer or stroma cells. These emphases have been directed by one of two prevailing theories in the field, the Somatic Mutation Theory and the Tissue Organization Field Theory, which represent two seemingly opposing concepts. This review proposes that the two theories are mutually inclusive and should be concurrently considered for cancer treatments. Specifically, this review discusses the dynamic and reciprocal processes between stromal cells and extracellular matrices, using pancreatic cancer as an example, to demonstrate the inclusivity of the theories. Furthermore, this review highlights the functions of cancer associated fibroblasts, which represent the major stromal cell type, as important mediators of the known cancer hallmarks that the two theories attempt to explain.

众所周知，肿瘤微环境在癌症的发生、发展和进展中起着关键作用。大多数临床干预措施旨在针对癌症或基质细胞。这些重点由该领域的两种流行理论之一指导，即体细胞突变理论和组织组织场理论，它们代表了两个看似对立的概念。本综述提出，这两种理论是相互包容的，应同时考虑用于癌症治疗。具体而言，本综述以胰腺癌为例讨论了基质细胞和细胞外基质之间的动态和交互过程，以证明这些理论的包容性。此外，这篇综述强调了癌症相关成纤维细胞的功能，