Cancer interaction with the bone microenvironment: a workshop of the National Institutes of Health Tumor Microenvironment Study Section.

The Tumor Microenvironment (TME) Study Section is one of the new study sections created as a result of a reorganization by the Oncological Sciences Integrated Review Group. The TME Study Section reviews grants focusing on basic mechanisms of bidirectional cancer cell and host interaction, including interactions between cancer-cell-secreted molecules; soluble and insoluble factors; and host immune, inflammatory, stromal, vascular, neural, and stem cells. The TME Study Section also reviews proposals on cancer cell and host organ interaction involving cell-cell, cell-growth factor, cell-extracellular matrix, and cell-adhesion/junctional communications with cancer cells and the progression of cancer cells to local invasion and distant metastasis (http://cms.csr.nih.gov/PeerReviewMeetings/CSRIRGDescription/ONCIRG/TME.htm). We present here a summary of the first TME Study Section Scientific Workshop held in Washington, DC, on February 27, 2005. This workshop focused primarily on recent developments in the study of cancer cell interaction with the bone microenvironment.