Understanding how tumor-stromal interactions regulate the growth and metastasis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma should help combat this aggressive cancer. Schluterman et al. report that grafted pancreatic tumors cannot grow properly in fibulin-5 knockout mice. Fibulin-5 normally sits in the extracellular matrix and prevents hyperactivation of integrin β1. Its loss triggers oxidative stress and apoptosis in the stromal microenvironment of the tumor, which withers away.

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