The tissue microenvironment supports normal tissue function and regulates the behaviour of parenchymal cells. Tumour cell behaviour, on the other hand, diverges significantly from that of their normal counterparts, rendering the microenvironment hostile to tumour cells. To overcome this problem, tumours can co-opt and remodel the microenvironment to facilitate their growth and spread. This involves modifying both the biochemistry and the biophysics of the normal microenvironment to produce a tumour microenvironment. In this Cell Science at a Glance article and accompanying poster, we outline the key processes by which epithelial tumours influence the establishment of the tumour microenvironment. As the microenvironment is populated by genetically normal cells, we discuss how controlling the microenvironment is both a significant challenge and a key vulnerability for tumours. Finally, we review how new insights into tumour–microenvironment interactions has led to the current consensus on how these processes may be targeted as novel anti-cancer therapies.

组织微环境支持正常的组织功能并调节实质细胞的行为。另一方面，肿瘤细胞的行为与正常细胞的行为大不相同，从而使微环境对肿瘤细胞具有敌意。为了克服这个问题，肿瘤可以选择并重塑微环境以促进其生长和扩散。这涉及修改正常微环境的生物化学和生物物理学以产生肿瘤微环境。在此《细胞科学概览》文章和随附的海报中，我们概述了上皮肿瘤影响肿瘤微环境建立的关键过程。由于微环境由遗传上正常的细胞组成，我们讨论了如何控制微环境既是重大挑战又是肿瘤的关键脆弱性。最后，我们回顾了对肿瘤与微环境相互作用的新见解如何导致当前就如何将这些过程作为新型抗癌疗法的目标达成共识。