The role of inflammatory cells in fostering pancreatic cancer cell growth and invasion

The pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) microenv ronment accommodates a variety of cell types and a plethora of complex interactions between tumor cells, host cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) components. Here we review the role of inflammatory cells, in particular mast cells, myeloid derived suppressor cells, macrophages, T regulatory cells, T helper cells and neutrophils. The picture that emerges is that of a tumor microenvironment, in which the immune response is actively suppressed, and inflammatory cells contribute in a variety of ways to tumor progression.