Indeed, in addition to cells expressing a preponderance of either C7 or APOD as observed in benign-adjacent tissues (Supplementary Figure S2A), fibroblasts co-expressing SFRP4 and C7 or C7 and APOD were observed throughout the tumour-associated stroma (Supplementary Figure S2b), implying that F5 may represent a later activation state common to both peri-epithelial and interstitial fibroblasts, as reported in other solid tumours (Croizer et al., 2024; Hanley et al., 2023). This evidence concerns the gene F5 and neoplasm.