![tumor in microenvironment](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/width_600/public/node/38893/image/tumor-microenvironment1200x800.jpg)
Cancer cells do not act alone. They enlist the body’s normal cells, molecules, and blood vessels in their efforts to survive, metastasize, and acquire drug resistance. In exploring how cancer cells interact and communicate with other cells in their microenvironment, our scientists are unmasking essential cancer-promoting processes and pioneering the development of promising new therapies.
![Find the related labs](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/node/39664/image/massague-lab.jpg)
![Joan Massagué](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/node/4490/3x2/160503-km-mskcc-annual-massague-58-1200x800.jpg)
![Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/node/4609/3x2/beenevideo-3x2.jpg)
![Pictured: Macrophage & Tumor Cells](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/node/27375/image/tam-2.jpg)
![Brain Tumor Center Faculty and Staff](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/node/1066/3x2/parada_btc_190115_01-3-_1200x800.jpg)
![Blood vessels supply tumors with the nutrients they need to grow.](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/node/26640/image/angiogenesis.jpg)
![Pictured: Activated macrophage](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/node/33539/image/activated-macrophage.jpg)
![Electronic microscope enlargement of macrophage cell (tinted green)](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/node/127549/3x2/macrophage-stock-image.jpg)