Dangerous Digs

A cell's surroundings may be instrumental to the development of cancer

UNHAPPY HOME  A breast tumor grown in a mouse is lined with twisted and leaky blood vessels (orange and pink). Lymph vessels (blue) surround the tumor. New studies show the importance of a tumor’s environment in determining how aggressive a cancer will become.

B.J. Vacok et al/Nature Medicine 2009

It’s what’s inside that counts, right? Not so when it comes to cancer, says Mina Bissell.