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Updated: Jan 29, 2026

Models of Bone Metastasis
Published on: September 4, 2012
Bone Metastasis: Find Your Niche and Fit in
Weijie Zhang1, Igor Bado1, Hai Wang1
1Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Abstract:
Metastasis to bones is determined by both intrinsic traits of metastatic tumor cells and properties appertaining to the bone microenvironment. Bone marrow niches are critical for all major steps of metastasis, including the seeding of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) to bone, the survival of DTCs and microscopic metastases under dormancy, and the eventual outgrowth of overt metastases. In this review, we discuss the role of bone marrow niches in bone colonization. The emphasis is on complicated and dynamic nature of cancer cells-niche interaction, which may underpin the long-standing mystery of metastasis dormancy, and represent a therapeutic target for elimination of minimal residue diseases and prevention of life-taking, overt metastases.
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