Kashima H, et al. - In order to assess the relevance of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) to the lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer, researchers examined if CAFs promote lymph node metastasis using clinical samples of esophageal cancer, and subsequently verified the intercellular relationships in vitro and in vivo using an orthotopic metastatic mouse model. Findings revealed enhancement in the lymph node metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in correlation with the accumulation of CAFs. This suggests the potential of CAF targeted therapy for reducing lymph node metastasis and improving the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer.