Reprogramming the rich connective tissue microenvironment of a liver cancer known as intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) inhibits its progression and resistance to standard chemotherapy in animal models, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have found. This new treatment for a disease with extremely poor outcomes uses antibodies to block placental growth factor (PlGF), a member of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family, which has been widely studied for its role in new vessel formation in cancers. PlGF is highly expressed in ICC compared to normal liver tissue, and blocking it reduces the production of connective tissue while increasing the efficacy of chemotherapy and survival in mice with ICC. These findings were reported in Gut, the journal of the British Society of Gastroenterology.