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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Advanced Animal Model of Colorectal Metastasis in Liver: Imaging Techniques and Properties of Metastatic Clones
Published on: November 30, 2016
A phosphatase associated with metastasis of colorectal cancer
S Saha1, A Bardelli, P Buckhaults
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Oncology Center, Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA.
Abstract:
To gain insights into the molecular basis for metastasis, we compared the global gene expression profile of metastatic colorectal cancer with that of primary cancers, benign colorectal tumors, and normal colorectal epithelium. Among the genes identified, the PRL-3 protein tyrosine phosphatase gene was of particular interest. It was expressed at high levels in each of 18 cancer metastases studied but at lower levels in nonmetastatic tumors and normal colorectal epithelium. In 3 of 12 metastases examined, multiple copies of the PRL-3 gene were found within a small amplicon located at chromosome 8q24.3. These data suggest that the PRL-3 gene is important for colorectal cancer metastasis and provide a new therapeutic target for these intractable lesions.
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