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Tumor-associated remodeling of extracellular matrix in fascial tissues may raise stiffness, fibrosis, and desmoplasia, promoting progression, invasion, metastasis, and immune escape. Cancer-associated fibroblasts likely drive these changes through collagen production, ECM modification, and mechanotransduction pathways. Evidence also links fascial interfaces with immune and nervous signaling, while emerging data suggest movement-based interventions could modulate stiffness and inflammation; standardized assessment, imaging tools, and rigorous trials remain needed.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/is-there-a-link-between-fascia-and-cancer-from-potential-mechanisms-to-future-treatment-options/354241/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/is-there-a-link-between-fascia-and-cancer-from-potential-mechanisms-to-future-treatment-options/354241.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Stanford","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-28","2026-09-22",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",18,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"How might fascia contribute to cancer progression?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"Tumor-associated remodeling of the extracellular matrix within fascial tissues can increase stiffness, fibrosis, and desmoplasia. These changes may facilitate tumor progression, invasion, metastasis, and immune escape.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"What role do cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play in fascia-related mechanisms?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"CAFs appear central by producing collagen, enzymatically modifying ECM structure, and influencing mechanotransduction pathways. Pathways involving regulators such as YAP/TAZ and integrins may promote pro-malignant cellular phenotypes.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"Can movement-based interventions affect fascia-related tumor biology?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"Emerging preclinical and early clinical data suggest controlled stretching and other mechanical therapies may modulate fascial stiffness and low-grade inflammation. Potential effects on tumor biology and patient-reported outcomes require confirmation in larger, well-controlled trials.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},354241,1790204866,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":145,"read_time":146},2336477552062,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d","TYPE Review  \nPUBLISHED 08 May 2026  \nDOI 10.3389/fphys.2026.1741526  \nOPEN ACCESS  \nEDITED BY  \nGiuseppe Longo,  \nCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France  \nREVIEWED BY  \nGopinath Prakasam,  \nUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, United States  \nJoko Wibowo Sentoso,  \nSebelas Maret University, Indonesia  \n*CORRESPONDENCE  \nWerner Klingler  \n[werner.klingler@uni-ulm.de](werner.klingler@uni-ulm.de)  \nRECEIVED 07 November 2025  \nREVISED 17 March 2026  \nACCEPTED 23 March 2026  \nPUBLISHED 08 May 2026  \nCITATION  \nOtto S and Klingler W (2026) Is there a link between fascia and cancer? From potential mechanisms to future treatment options.  \nFront. Physiol. 17:1741526 .  \ndoi: 10.3389/fphys.2026.1741526  \nCOPYRIGHT  \n© 2026 Otto and Klingler. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.  \nIs there a link between fascia and cancer? From potential mechanisms to future treatment options  \nStephanie Otto 1,2,3,4,5 and Werner Klingler 6,7,8,9*  \n1Comprehensive Cancer Center Ulm (CCCU), Ulm University, Ulm, Germany, 2 Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany, 3 Department of Internal Medicine I, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany, 4 Department of Internal Medicine III, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany, 5 Fascia Research Society (FRS), Burnsville, MN, United States, 6 Fascia Research Group, Department of Neurosurgery, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany, 7Technical University of Munich (TUM) School of Medicine and Health, Professorship for Conservative and Rehabilitative Orthopaedics,  \nMunich, Germany, 8 Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 9 Department of Anaesthesiology, Stiftung Rehabilitation Heidelberg (SRH) Hospital Sigmaringen, Sigmaringen, Germany  \nFascia, the connective tissue network enveloping muscles, organs, nerves, and vasculature, plays an important role in maintaining structural integrity, biomechanical function, and integrative physiological processes. Traditionally considered a passive support structure, fascia is increasingly discussed as an active component in cancer biology, particularly within the tumor microenvironment (TME), although many mechanistic pathways remain incompletely characterized. Experimental and clinical studies suggest that tumor-associated remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) within fascial tissues can increase tissue stiffness, fibrosis, and desmoplasia, changes that may facilitate tumor progression, invasion, metastasis, and immune escape, and could contribute to resistance against conventional therapies in at least some tumor entities. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) appear to be central mediators of these processes by producing collagen, enzymatically modifying ECM structure, and influencing mechanotransduction pathways involving transcriptional regulators such as YAP/TAZ and integrins, thereby promoting pro-malignant cellular phenotypes in model systems. Fascia also interfaces closely with immune and nervous systems, potentially influencing immune cell trafficking, neuroinflammatory signaling, and systemic stress responses via the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis and vagal pathways, but these interactions are only partly understood in the context of cancer. Emerging preclinical and early clinical data indicate that physical exercise and movement-based interventions, including controlled stretching and other mechanical therapies, may modulate fascial stiffness and low-grade inflammation, with possible effects on tumor biology and patient-reported outcomes that appear at least partly distinct from those","cbCaib5K0b3BOUxb","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaib5K0b3BOUxb","pdf",8105846,41,"English","# Introduction\n## Fascia, ECM remodeling, and tumor progression\n## CAF-mediated mechanotransduction and malignant phenotypes\n## Immune and nervous system interfaces\n## Exercise and movement-based interventions\n## Clinical correlations and prognostic implications\n## Translational strategies targeting fascia/ECM\n## Future research priorities and concluding remarks","[{\"question\":\"How might fascia contribute to cancer progression?\",\"answer\":\"Tumor-associated remodeling of the extracellular matrix within fascial tissues can increase stiffness, fibrosis, and desmoplasia. These changes may facilitate tumor progression, invasion, metastasis, and immune escape.\"},{\"question\":\"What role do cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play in fascia-related mechanisms?\",\"answer\":\"CAFs appear central by producing collagen, enzymatically modifying ECM structure, and influencing mechanotransduction pathways. Pathways involving regulators such as YAP/TAZ and integrins may promote pro-malignant cellular phenotypes.\"},{\"question\":\"Can movement-based interventions affect fascia-related tumor biology?\",\"answer\":\"Emerging preclinical and early clinical data suggest controlled stretching and other mechanical therapies may modulate fascial stiffness and low-grade inflammation. Potential effects on tumor biology and patient-reported outcomes require confirmation in larger, well-controlled trials.\"}]","Is there a link between fascia and cancer? - From potential mechanisms to future treatment options | PDF",1790109707,103]