Abstract
In this chapter, we will learn that the tumor microenvironment is a stroma of normal cells supporting cancer cells. Tumors act like parasites that use the physiological wound healing response of the host to acquire a stroma that they need for survival and growth. The chronic inflammatory setup of tumors let them behave as wounds that do not heal. In concert with tumor-associated stromal cells, such as fibroblasts and a variety of immune cells, cancer cells start the process of angiogenesis that is essential for their support with oxygen and nutrients. Moreover, TAMs constitute a major component of the tumor microenvironment and shape the overall metabolic profile of the tumor microenvironment supporting disease progression.