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Related Concept Videos

Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance02:40

Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance

Early diagnosis and treatment can often cure cancer. However, even with treatment, residual cells called cancer stem cells (CSC) might remain, often causing tumor recurrence. These cancer stem cells possess the potential for self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation and are often responsible for the therapeutic resistance displayed in most cancers.
Cancer stem cells are thought to originate from tissue-specific normal stem cells or progenitor cells. The normal stem cells usually reside in...
Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance02:40

Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance

Early diagnosis and treatment can often cure cancer. However, even with treatment, residual cells called cancer stem cells (CSC) might remain, often causing tumor recurrence. These cancer stem cells possess the potential for self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation and are often responsible for the therapeutic resistance displayed in most cancers.
Cancer stem cells are thought to originate from tissue-specific normal stem cells or progenitor cells. The normal stem cells usually reside in...
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell02:21

Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell

Cancer arises from mutations in the critical genes that allow healthy cells to escape cell cycle regulation and acquire the ability to proliferate indefinitely. Though originating from a single mutation event in one of the originator cells, cancer progresses when the mutant cell lines continue to gain more and more mutations, and finally, become malignant. For example, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) develops initially as a non-lethal increase in white blood cells, which progressively...
Cancer02:18

Cancer

Cancers arise due to mutations in genes involved in the regulation of cell division, which leads to unrestricted cell proliferation. Modern science and medicine have made great strides in the understanding and treatment of cancer, including eradicating cancer in some patients. However, there is still no cure for cancer. This is largely due to the fact that cancer is a large group of many diseases.
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells02:53

Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells

Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Metastasis02:30

Metastasis

Metastasis is the spread of cancer cells from the original site to distant locations in the body. Cancer cells can spread via blood vessels (hematogenous) as well as lymph vessels in the body.
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...

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Tracking Tumor Cell Dissemination from Lung Metastases Using Photoconversion
05:23

Tracking Tumor Cell Dissemination from Lung Metastases Using Photoconversion

Published on: July 7, 2023

Self-seeding in cancer.

Elizabeth Comen1, Larry Norton

  • 1Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA. comene@mskcc.org

Recent Results in Cancer Research. Fortschritte Der Krebsforschung. Progres Dans Les Recherches Sur Le Cancer
|April 25, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Metastatic cancer remains largely incurable. A new "self-seeding" theory suggests cancer cells can spread multi-directionally, even back to the primary tumor, offering new treatment avenues.

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Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Biology
  • Translational Medicine

Background:

  • Metastatic cancer, despite treatment advances, remains a leading cause of cancer-related death.
  • Current treatment paradigms for metastatic disease face limitations and inconsistencies, particularly in understanding cancer spread.
  • Breast cancer serves as a model to explore these challenges in metastatic disease.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review current understanding of metastatic cancer treatment limitations.
  • To introduce and validate the "self-seeding" theory of metastasis.
  • To propose how the self-seeding model can inform future research and treatment strategies for metastatic cancers.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on cancer metastasis and treatment.
  • Analysis of mathematical, experimental, and animal models supporting the self-seeding theory.
  • Comparative analysis of unidirectional versus multi-directional seeding paradigms.

Main Results:

  • The traditional unidirectional model of cancer cell spread is challenged by mounting evidence.
  • The "self-seeding" paradigm, where circulating tumor cells can seed distant sites and their tumors of origin, is supported by multiple models.
  • This multi-directional spread offers explanations for current enigmas in cancer progression.

Conclusions:

  • The self-seeding model provides a novel framework for understanding cancer metastasis.
  • Rethinking research and treatment strategies within the self-seeding paradigm may unlock new possibilities for eradicating metastatic cancer.
  • Further investigation into the self-seeding mechanism is crucial for developing more effective therapies against metastatic disease.