Figure 3.

Impact of the tumor stroma and the stromal traverse on T cell dynamics. (A) The tumor is a non-homogenous structure that can be generally split into tumor and stroma. A diverse population of immune cells enrich in stroma away from direct cancer cell contact, and closer to vascular points of entry and lymphovascular points of exit. Different tumors can vary widely in the extent of tumor stroma. capacity for direct cancer cell cytotoxicity. (B) Following entry of lymphocytes into the tumor stroma via the vasculature, there are multiple stromal barriers that can cause T cell arrest and provide opportunities for a dominance of exit signals for continued recirculation through efferent lymphovasculature, rather than continuing through the stroma to meet cancer cells. More extensive stroma may increase the duration of traverse and decrease the likelihood of T cells meeting cancer cells.