1. ¹The Wistar Institute, 3601 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
2. ²Program of Cell and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Graduate Studies, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

Correspondence: M Herlyn, E-mail: herlynm@wistar.upenn.edu

³Current address: Center for Molecular and Cellular Biology, MAHE, Manipal, India

⁴Current address: Department of Dermatology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany

⁵Current address: Department of Dermatology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany

Abstract

Melanoma development and progression not only involve genetic and epigenetic changes that take place within the melanocytic cells, but also involve processes that are determined collectively by contextual factors including intercellular adhesions and communications. In this review, we focus on melanoma–stromal fibroblast crosstalk by direct cell–cell contact and by growth factors/cytokines/chemokines interacting with their respective receptors. The interactions between melanoma cells and stromal fibroblasts create a context that promotes tumor growth, migration/invasion, and angiogenesis. An understanding of this process and developing new experimental and screening models are of great importance for the development of effective therapeutical strategies to treat melanoma.