Circulation patterns and seed-soil compatibility factors cooperate to cause cancer organ-specific metastasis

Despite the recognition of the lethality of cancer metastasis and the importance of developing specific anti-metastasis therapies directed at the cancer metastatic cascade, the dynamics of cancer metastasis remains poorly understood. In this study, we examined the dynamics of circulating tumor cell (CTC) survival in the bloodstream using experimental mouse models. CTCs were arrested in the capillaries by adhesion to vascular endothelium within a few minutes after injection into the bloodstream. The loss of CTCs from the circulation followed a bi-phasic decay pattern, with the number of CTCs in the bloodstream being closely associated with the number of blood circulation cycles. The calculated in vivo Vd (apparent volume of distribution) of the CTC revealed organ specific binding of the CTCs. Moreover, confocal microscopy, in vivo fluorescence imaging in syngeneic mouse metastatic models and analysis of blood circulation patterns support the notion of organ-specific tumor metastasis. The present study suggests that organ-specific tumor metastasis is influenced by cooperation between blood circulation patterns and 'seed-soil' compatibility factors. These new findings provide further insights for optimized cancer metastatic prevention strategies such as by creating a hostile circulation microenvironment and targeting the organ-specific 'seed-soil' compatibility factors.