Kashima H, et al. - Researchers explored the relevance of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) to the lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer. They performed analysis of clinical samples of esophageal cancer, the findings of which demonstrated a strong association of FAP⁺ CAFs with lymph node metastasis rather than with other prognostic factors. In addition, they observed an impact of CAFs on the ability of esophageal cancer cells to acquire metastatic phenotypes in vitro; data from an in vivo orthotopic metastatic mouse model corroborated this finding. Overall, in vitro and in vivo investigations verified that the accumulation of CAFs enhances the lymph node metastasis of ESCC. With CAF targeted therapy, lymph node metastasis can be reduced and prognosis can be improved in the future in patients with esophageal cancer.