Cancer metastasis: issues and challenges

Metastasis is the major cause of treatment failure in cancer patients and of cancer-related deaths. This editorial discusses how cancer metastasis may be better perceived and controlled. Based on big-data analyses, a collection of 150 important pro-metastatic genes was studied. Using The Cancer Geno...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ai zheng 2017-04, Vol.36 (3), p.108-111, Article 38
Main Authors: Qian, Chao‐Nan, Mei, Yan, Zhang, Jian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use
E-cadherin
EMT
Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition
Humans
JAM2
Kinases
Liver cancer
Metastasis
Metastasis
E-cadherin
EMT
JAM2
PPARGC1A
SIK2
TRAF6
Neoplasm Metastasis - genetics
Neoplasms - drug therapy
Ovarian cancer
Pharmaceutical industry
PPARGC1A
Prognosis
Prostate cancer
SIK2
TRAF6
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Summary:Metastasis is the major cause of treatment failure in cancer patients and of cancer-related deaths. This editorial discusses how cancer metastasis may be better perceived and controlled. Based on big-data analyses, a collection of 150 important pro-metastatic genes was studied. Using The Cancer Genome Atlas datasets to re-analyze the effect of some previously reported metastatic genes-e.g., JAM2, PPARGC1A, SIK2, and TRAF6-on overall survival of patients with renal and liver cancers, we found that these genes are actually protective factors for patients with cancer. The role of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in single-cell metastasis has been well-documented. However, in metastasis caused by cancer cell clusters, EMT may not be necessary. A novel role of epithelial marker E-cadherin, as a sensitizer for chemoresistant prostate cancer cells by inhibiting Notch signaling, has been found. This editorial also discusses the obstacles for developing anti-metastatic drugs, including the lack of high-throughput technologies for identifying metastasis inhibitors, less application of animal models in the pre-clinical evaluation of the leading compounds,and the need for adjustments in clinical trial design to better reflect the anti-metastatic efficacy of new drugs.We are confident that by developing more effective high-throughput technologies to identify metastasis inhibitors,we can better predict, prevent, and treat cancer metastasis.
ISSN:1000-467X
2523-3548
1944-446X
1944-446X
2523-3548
DOI:10.1186/s40880-017-0206-7