The activation of fibroblasts in many cancers is dependent on different paracrine cues such as growth factors and cytokines, e.g., fibroblast growth factor (FGF), transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), receptor tyrosine kinase signalling, tumor necrosis factor, or reactive oxygen species, released by cancer cells and the infiltrating immune cells (Zhou et al., 2022) (Figure 2). Here, TGFB1 is linked to cancer.