Functionally, fibroblast activation protein α-positive (FAP+) CAFs promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and therapy resistance via long non-coding RNA MIR4435-2HG, a molecule previously associated with cancer progression including CRC (Ghasemian et al., 2022), while peptidase inhibitor 16-/slit guidance ligand 2-positive (PI16+/SLIT2+) progenitor CAFs foster immunity and inhibit tumor progression by recruiting and activating T cells. This evidence concerns the gene PI16 and cancer.