In addition to the receptor activation, CAFs secrete matrix-remodeling enzymes, such as lysyl oxidase (LOX), which induce ECM stiffness, thereby promoting cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in vitro [37] and facilitating gastric cancer-derived liver metastasis in vivo [38]. Here, LOX is linked to cancer.