The role of the microenvironment during the initiation and progression of malignancy is appreciated to be of critical importance for improved molecular diagnostics and therapeutics. The tumor microenvironment is the product of a crosstalk between different cells types. Critical elements in the microenvironment include tumor associated fibroblasts, which provide an essential communication network via secretion of growth factors and chemokines, inducing an altered extracellular matrix (ECM), thereby providing additional oncogenic signals that enhance cancer-cell proliferation and invasion. Active contribution of tumor-associated stromal cells to cancer progression has been recognized. Stromal elements consist of the ECM, fibroblasts of various phenotypes, and a scaffold composed of immune and inflammatory cells, blood and lymph vessels, and nerves. This review will focus on therapeutic targets in the microenvironment related to tumor endothelium, tumor associated fibroblasts and the extracellular matrix
