Collagen--a necessary accomplice in the metastatic process.
The prognosis for cancer patients with metastatic disease remains poor. For cancer to metastasize from a primary tumor to distinct sites in the body, both the extracellular matrix and basement membrane--physiological barriers whose primary structural constituent is collagen--must be degraded to allow the passage of tumor cells. Collagen has long been assumed to be a passive background upon which the biochemical events of metastasis take place, but recent experimental developments instead point to a novel active role for collagen in the immune response to metastasis. Along with a new hypothesis for the mechanism of collagen degradation, these data suggest innovative approaches to prevent the spread of cancer from the primary tumor site.
Nerenberg
Paul S
PS
Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Salsas-Escat
Ramon
R
Stultz
Collin M
CM
D000818:Animals; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000473:pathology*; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*
D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D003094:Collagen