In one study, our group reported that increased TIMP-1 expression modified the tumor microenvironment in favor of cancer progression by stimulating accumulation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) within prostate cancer tissues, and that TIMP-1 enhanced prostate CAF proliferation and migration in vitro while promoting ERK1/2 kinase activation in these CAF cells [155]. Here, TIMP1 is linked to prostate carcinoma.