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Metastasis is the spread of cancer to a part of the body distant from the original primary cancer. This occurs through the transfer of malignant or cancerous cells via lymph or blood. The new occurrences of cancer are called metastases.
Circulating tumour cells from primary carcinomas may reach the brain and establish metastases. In the brain parenchyma, tumour cells initiate extensive interactions with resident astrocytes, microglia and neurons, forming a niche where tumour cells can thrive. A new study reveals a previously unknown type of astrocyteâtumour cell interaction.
In this Review, Rabas et al. describe the mechanisms by which primary tumours precondition distal organs to favour metastatic colonization â a limiting step of metastasis â and discuss how non-cancer-dependent perturbations of tissue homeostasis are also able to trigger pro-metastatic conditioning, emphasizing the need for a holistic view to identify preventive or therapeutic opportunities.
Identification of âessential expression-restrictedâ genes requiring tight regulated for efficient metastasis. Smarcd1 transcript is regulated by Nanos1, Pum2, and CPSF4 to maintain a precise expression range outside of which splicing is altered and metastatic efficiency is reduced.
Circulating tumour cells from primary carcinomas may reach the brain and establish metastases. In the brain parenchyma, tumour cells initiate extensive interactions with resident astrocytes, microglia and neurons, forming a niche where tumour cells can thrive. A new study reveals a previously unknown type of astrocyteâtumour cell interaction.
Using single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of bone-colonizing tumour cells and in vivo screening, lymphotoxin-β (LTβ) was identified as a key factor promoting bone colonization and outgrowth of breast cancer metastases. Blocking LTβ signalling significantly suppressed bone metastasis, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target for breast cancer with bone metastatic disease.
Sex matters in metastasis, but it has received little attention in research. Here, we highlight the emerging and important roles of biological sex in metastasis and advocate for mechanistic and quantitative studies for the future development of sex-tailored therapies.
This month, Nature Reviews Cancer launches Roadmap articles, in which we ask authors to provide a sense of direction to a field to encourage new lines of thinking and experimentation, as well as opportunities for collaboration.
