CAFs have previously been demonstrated to produce high levels of SDF-1 and TGF-β, contributing to the growth and progression of nearby carcinoma cells by acting in a paracrine fashion (Orimo et al, 2005; Kojima et al, 2010; Zhang et al, 2013; Scherz-Shouval et al, 2014). Here, TGFB1 is linked to carcinoma.