Forty human primary NSCLC tumors were acquired directly from the operating room, dissociated and sorted based on CD45+EPCAM− (pan-immune), CD31+CD45−EPCAM− (endothelial cells), EPCAM+CD45−CD31− (malignant cells), and CD10+EPCAM−CD45−CD31− (fibroblasts), via our previously published flow cytometry strategy (Fig. 1a) [20]. Here, EPCAM is linked to non-small cell lung carcinoma.