Affiliations: National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Yibin Kang, Ph.D., Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. Tel.: +1 609 258 8834; Fax: +1 609 258 2340; E-mail: ykang@princeton.edu
Abstract: Breast cancer inflicts casualties by metastasizing to a variety ofdistant organs, including lung, bone, liver and brain. Although the tissuetropism for breast cancer metastasis has been recognized and studied for along time, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this processremain sketchy. Recent technological breakthroughs in functional genomics, in vivo imaging, and genetic manipulation of cancer cells in animal metastasis models have enabled the discovery and analysis of tissue-specific metastasis genes. These genes play vital roles in mediating tumor-stroma interactions during metastasis and are likely candidates for therapeutic interventions. Analysis of tissue-specific metastasis not only enriched our understanding about the malignancy of breast cancer, but also provided elegant experimental support for the century-old “seed and soil” hypothesis.
Keywords: Breast cancer, metastasis, tissue tropism, mouse model, expression profiling, in vivo imaging
DOI: 10.3233/BD-2007-26111
Journal: Breast Disease, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 129-138, 2007
