Models, mechanisms and clinical evidence for cancer dormancy.
Patients with cancer can develop recurrent metastatic disease with latency periods that range from years even to decades. This pause can be explained by cancer dormancy, a stage in cancer progression in which residual disease is present but remains asymptomatic. Cancer dormancy is poorly understood, resulting in major shortcomings in our understanding of the full complexity of the disease. Here, I review experimental and clinical evidence that supports the existence of various mechanisms of cancer dormancy including angiogenic dormancy, cellular dormancy (G0-G1 arrest) and immunosurveillance. The advances in this field provide an emerging picture of how cancer dormancy can ensue and how it could be therapeutically targeted.
Aguirre-Ghiso
Julio A
JA
Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health and Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics, University at Albany, State University of New York, One Discovery Drive, Rensselaer, New York 12144-3456, USA. jaguirre-ghiso@albany.edu
D000818:Animals; D018450:Disease Progression; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008954:Models, Biological; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000503:physiopathology; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000503:physiopathology; D018365:Neoplasm, Residual; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000503:physiopathology; D013997:Time Factors; D047368:Tumor Burden; D019139:Tumor Escape
D009363:Neoplasm Proteins