Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026

An In Vitro System to Study Tumor Dormancy and the Switch to Metastatic Growth
Published on: August 11, 2011
Tumor dormancy and the role of metastasis suppressor genes in regulating ectopic growth
Benjamin D Hedley1, Alison L Allan, Ann F Chambers
1University of Western Ontario, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, London Regional Cancer Program, Department of Oncology, London, Ontario, Canada. ben.hedley@lhsc.on.ca
Abstract:
Metastasis, or tumor growth in an ectopic site, may occur several years after apparently successful treatment of the primary malignancy. Clinical dormancy is seen in a large number of cancer patients, but once growth in an ectopic site initiates, current adjuvant therapies are inadequate and the majority of patients with metastatic disease will die. Many genes may regulate ectopic growth in a secondary site, including a small subset, termed the metastasis suppressor genes. Investigation into this class of genes holds promise in terms of gaining a greater understanding of tumor dormancy and how the process of metastasis may be naturally inhibited. This review will focus on the role of metastasis suppressor genes in tumor dormancy. Insights into the metastatic process from studies of metastasis suppressor genes may lead to novel targets for antimetastatic therapy through drug-induced reactivation of one or more of these genes and/or their respective signaling pathways.
More Related Videos
08:48An In Vitro Dormancy Model of Estrogen-sensitive Breast Cancer in the Bone Marrow: A Tool for Molecular Mechanism Studies and Hypothesis Generation
Published on: June 30, 2015
12:48A Time-lapse, Label-free, Quantitative Phase Imaging Study of Dormant and Active Human Cancer Cells
Published on: February 16, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Abnormal Proliferation
Loss of Tumor Suppressor Gene Functions
When the tumor suppressor genes develop mutations or are lost, cells start growing out of control, leading to cancer. However, a single functional copy of the tumor suppressor gene is enough for the cells to maintain their normal functions and cell...
Mitogens and the Cell Cycle
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
Metastasis
Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition or EMT is a developmental process commonly observed in wound healing, embryogenesis, and cancer metastasis. EMT is induced by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) or receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) ligands, which further...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...