Credit: Nature Cell Biology
Collagen fiber alignment at the tumor boundary (dashed lines) is predictive of prognosis. Fibers that tend to be perpendicular to the tumor surface (top right, for example) encourage metastasis and indicate a poor prognosis. Fibers that run parallel to the tumor surface (bottom right) protect against cancer spreading. Tumors without DDR2 or SNAIL1 tend to show the protective parallel fiber alignment.