{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T19:22:13Z","timestamp":1792092133340,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":119,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,26]],"date-time":"2025-06-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1750896000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer, and despite significant therapeutic advances over the past decade, a substantial number of patients still progress to a fatal outcome. The initiation and progression of melanoma are strongly influenced by interactions between melanoma cells and other components of the tumor microenvironment (TME). In this review, we focus on the interplay between fibroblasts resident in the tumor microenvironment and tumor cells. In particular, we examine the molecular mechanisms through which melanoma cells induce the transformation of resident fibroblasts into their active form, known as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). We also explore the role of CAFs in shaping the melanoma microenvironment (MME) and in organizing the pre-metastatic niche, a specialized microenvironment that forms in distant organs or tissues to support the survival and expansion of metastatic melanoma cells. Finally, we discuss emerging therapeutic strategies aimed at disrupting the interactions between CAFs, melanoma cells, and other components of the tumor microenvironment to improve treatment outcomes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms26136132","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,26]],"date-time":"2025-06-26T06:55:13Z","timestamp":1750920913000},"page":"6132","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["The Role of Fibroblasts in Melanoma Development: From Tumor Microenvironment Remodeling to Pre-Metastatic Niche Formation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Immacolata","family":"Belviso","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology and Health Sciences, Telematic University Pegaso, 80143 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raffaele","family":"Pastore","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine and Health Sciences \u201cVincenzo Tiberio\u201d, University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aldo","family":"Mileo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine and Health Sciences \u201cVincenzo Tiberio\u201d, University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2874-4629","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emiliano","family":"Del Genio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine and Health Sciences \u201cVincenzo Tiberio\u201d, University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Mental and Physical Health and Preventive Medicine, Section of Human Anatomy, University of Campania \u201cLuigi Vanvitelli\u201d, 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stefania","family":"Boccia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mental and Physical Health and Preventive Medicine, Section of Human Anatomy, University of Campania \u201cLuigi Vanvitelli\u201d, 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1558-4857","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stefano","family":"Palermi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departmental Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, UniCamillus-Saint Camillus International University of Health Sciences, 00131 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5595-7841","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carmine","family":"Sellitto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mental and Physical Health and Preventive Medicine, Section of Human Anatomy, University of Campania \u201cLuigi Vanvitelli\u201d, 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4419-9694","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Letizia","family":"Motti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical, Human Movement and Well-Being Sciences, University of Naples Parthenope, 80133 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"The Cancer Genome Atlas Network (2015). 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