Surviving at a Distance: Organ-Specific Metastasis

Abstract

The clinical manifestation of metastasis in a vital organ is the final stage of cancer progression and the main culprit of cancer related mortality. Once established, metastasis is devastating, yet only a small proportion of the cancer cells that leave a tumor succeed at infiltrating, surviving, and ultimately overtaking a distant organ. The bottlenecks that challenge cancer cells in newly invaded microenvironments are organ specific and consequently demand distinct mechanisms for metastatic colonization. Here we review the metastatic traits that allow cancer cells to colonize distinct organ sites.

Evolving Strategies for Therapeutically Targeting Cancer Stem Cells

“…Metastasis is a complex process involving dissociation of cancer cells from their primary sites, survival in the vascular system, and subsequent attachment, invasion, and proliferation in distant target organs (Obenauf & Massagu e, 2015;Oskarsson & Massagu e, 2012). Normal cells undergo an apoptotic process called anoikis, after the loss of contact with the extracellular matrix or neighboring cells (Fofaria & Srivastava, 2015;Schempp et al, 2014;Simpson, Anyiwe, & Schimmer, 2008).…”

Orchestration of the crosstalk between astrocytes and cancer cells affects the treatment and prognosis of lung cancer sufferers with brain metastasis

“…Massagué and his colleagues two opposite roles for astrocytes in brain metastasis in separate works: dispelling cancer cells entering the brain parenchyma (7,13) and promoting the progression of metastasis in the brain (8,14). The contact with astrocytes leads to up-regulated expression of multiple genes in the cancer cells (15), including several survival genes that are in charge of the increased resistance of cancer cells to cytotoxic drugs (12).…”

“…Researchers noticed that only cells that grew on top of blood capillaries were able to survive, and each cell stick very closely to its vessel, just like a panda bear hugging a tree trunk. This hugging is indispensable, if a cancer cell detaches from its vessel, it will be killed by astrocytes nearby (7,16).…”

“…As it explicates, circulating cancer cells must overcome many obstacles to colonize in brain (6). However, once the distinctive biology of metastases is established in brain, the host microenvironment will play a "sanctuary" role in promoting metastatic growth and treatment resistance (7), and then current treatments frequently fail to provide durable responses (8). An improved understanding of the crosstalk between microenvironment and cancer cells is needed to prevent and treat metastatic cancer (9).…”

Similarity between Some Biological Systems, Organotropism and Metastatic Process: Active Role Played By Secondary Organ?

“…The skin, ovaries and spleen are less common sites of metastasis. Skin metastases generally occur in melanoma and breast cancer, ovarian metastases in breast and gastric cancers, and spleen metastases almost exclusively in melanoma" [29].…”