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Tracing the origins of metastasis
Author(s) -
Nguyen Don X
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the journal of pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.964
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1096-9896
pISSN - 0022-3417
DOI - 10.1002/path.2801
Subject(s) - epigenetics , metastasis , biology , pathological , disease , trace (psycholinguistics) , cancer , tumour heterogeneity , evolutionary biology , medicine , bioinformatics , pathology , genetics , gene , linguistics , philosophy
Cancer metastasis is often considered an orderly sequence of events leading to the colonization of distal organs by malignant cells. In fact, the evolution of metastatic disease is a dynamic process that is influenced by unique cellular lineages, altered microenvironments, distinct anatomical restrictions and multiple genetic and epigenetic alterations. These factors all contribute to variable clinical courses, likely requiring tailored therapy. As we inch closer towards personalized medicine, there is a renewed conceptual and technological focus on characterizing the cellular and genetic heterogeneity within tumours, to ultimately trace the origins of metastatic cells in different cancers. Copyright © 2010 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.