Through a process that resembles seeding plants, cancer cells break away from a primary tumor and travel through tissues until they find fertile breeding grounds that will support their growth. Once cancer spreads, there are few effective treatment options.1 For example, even though diagnostic and therapeutic advances have increased breast cancer survival rates, metastatic disease remains the leading cause of death for these patients.2 Despite this devastating track record, very little is known about the mechanisms that underlie cancer metastasis.3
The human body is equipped with various defense systems to prevent metastasis, but some tumors can influence a tissue’s immune response so that it instead supports cancer seed germination. Scientists now take a closer look at tumor-immune cell crosstalk to identify the molecules and cell types that act as fertilizers and prepare tissues for the arrival of circulating tumor cells.
In a recent paper published in Cell Reports, Karin de ...
