Pancreatic cancer is the most aggressive tumor, showing almost identical incidence and mortality values. Emerging data have highlighted the paramount contribution of tumor epithelium-stroma cross-talk in tumor progression. Galectin-1, a glycan-binding protein, is highly expressed in the stroma of pancreatic ductal tumors from Ela-myc mice, suggesting a role in cancer progression. Interestingly, genetic depletion of Galectin-1 in this model decreases tumor proliferation, angiogenesis, stroma formation and acinar to ductal metaplasia, and restores the immune surveillance, leading to a significant increase in animal lifespan. These results show that Galectin-1 favors tumor progression by modulation of the tumor microenvironment, suggesting that this lectin is a potential target for therapy. For details, see article by Martínez-Bosch and colleagues on page 3512.