title: The tumor ecosystem regulates the roads for invasion and metastasis.
abstract: Invasive cancer cells traffic from the primary tumor ecosystem to distant metastatic sites. Experimental data are reviewed with a focus on cross-signaling between cancer cells and host cells such as myofibroblasts and mesenchymal stem cells. Invasion-associated cellular activities, namely vesicle exocytosis and epithelial to mesenchymal transition, depend on complex networks of signal transduction pathways including activation of tyrosine kinases, the Rab, Rac and Rho family of small GTPases and cadherin signaling. As clinical validation, some cell types or molecules implicated in invasion-associated activities may serve as prognostic/predictive biomarker or as target for patient-tailored therapy.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of experimental cancer research, department of radiation oncology and experimental cancer research, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: An
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hendrix
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gespach
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bracke
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: De Wever
mesh_terms: D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; D006801:Humans; D058628:Myofibroblasts; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment