The tumor microenvironment at a turning point knowledge gained over the last decade, and challenges and opportunities ahead: A white paper from the NCI TME network

Over the past 10 years, the Tumor Microenvironment Network (TMEN), supported by the NCI (Bethesda, MD), has promoted collaborative research with the explicit goal of fostering multi-institutional and transdisciplinary groups that are capable of addressing complex issues involving the tumor microenvironment. The main goal of the TMEN was to generate novel information about the dynamic complexity of tumor-host interactions in different organ systems with emphasis on using human tissues and supplemented by experimental models. As this initiative comes to a close, members of the TMEN took time to examine what has been accomplished by the Network and importantly to identify the challenges and opportunities ahead. This consensus document summarizes for the broader scientific community discussions that occurred at the two final meetings of the TMEN in 2015 and 2016.