Tissue-resident fibroblasts are typically activated by cytokines secreted by tumor cells and other stromal cells, such as specifically transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), epithelial growth factor (EGF), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VCAM-1) (Mao et al., 2021). Here, CCN2 is linked to neoplasm.