Editorial: Cancer Ecosystems.

Highlights from the article: Compared to differentiated cells, many tumor cells have an altered energy metabolism. Most studies on the metabolism of cancer cells have focused on the investigation of a single type of intra-tumoral cell, although recent studies have described a more complex scene, where the tumor ecosystem via metabolic symbiosis plays a critical role in cancer progression ([9], [10], [29]). This transport through TNTs between malignant and stromal cells can modify the gene regulation and metabolism of TME cells, playing a critical role in tumor growth and metastasis, as well as in resistance to different treatments. Metabolic synergy between cancer and stroma cells is a driver of cancer aggressiveness and it has been shown that lactate is an essential metabolic intermediate between TME cells, fueling the oxidative metabolism of oxygenated tumor cells.