Special Issue "Organ-Specific Metastasis Formation"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Jörg Haier
Comprehensive Cancer Center Muenster, International Patient Management, University Hospital Muenster, Waldeyerstr. 1, 48149 Muenster, Germany
Website: http://cccm.uni-muenster.de/
E-Mail:
Phone: +49 251 83 57630 (Labor 56326)
Fax: +49 251 83 57631
Interests: gastraintestinal cancer; metastasis; cell adhesion; cell migration; chemotaxis

Guest Editor
Dr. Peter Gassmann
Department of General and Abdominal Surgery, University Medicine of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Langenbeckstrasse 1, 55131 Mainz, Germany
E-Mail:
Phone: +49 (0)251 83-56301
Fax: +49 (0)251 83-56480
Interests: gastrointestinal cancers; mechanisms of metastasis formation; tumor cell adhesion and migration; animal models; gastro-intestinal surgery; hepato-biliary surgery

Dear Colleagues,

The development of secondary distant organ and lymph node metastasis has an extraordinary impact on the prognosis of patients with solid cancer. In most cases the advent of metastatic growth represents the turning point from a local, potentially curable, disease to a systemic non-curable situation. As a highly regulated process, metastasis formation follows a distinct, non-random pattern characteristic for each tumor entity.

Metastasis formation and strategies to prevent this lethal event in the progression of cancer is of fundamental interest for cancer science and patient care. For this special issue of 'Cancers', papers high-lightning cellular mechanisms of metastasis formation, genetic and epigenetic aspects associated with organ and tumor specific metastasis formation, as well as papers outlining experimental and clinical therapeutic concepts for anti-metastatic treatment are welcome. We especially encourage the submission of papers presenting innovative animal models of organ specific metastasis formation.

Dr. Peter Gassmann
Guest Editor

Submission

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed Open Access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 500 CHF (Swiss Francs). English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.

• organ specific metastasis
• animal models
• anti-metastatic treatment
• metastasis (-suppressor) genes
• lymph nod metastasis

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Cancer Mass Growth, Metastasis Formation and Angiogenesis
Authors: G. Dattoli ¹, P. P. Del Santo ², C. Guiot ^2,3, P. L. Ottaviani ⁴ and S. Pagnutti ³
Affiliations: ¹ Enea, Frascati Rsearch Center , Frascati, Rome, Italy; E-Mail: dattoli@frascati.enea.it
² University of Torino, Torino, Italy
³ Enea, Bologna Research Center, Bologna, Italy
⁴ Infn Sezione di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Abstract: The hystory of cancer evolution goes through three main steps: Preangiogenic phase, growth of mass along with the formation of capillary architecture and exponential proliferation at clinical level. It is not clear yet when the metastasis spreading out may occur and wether they it is only the manifestation of an energetic crisis of the cancer in its competition with the host organ. We review different growth models, using a technique based on energy balance rate equations, similar to those used in the study of coherent systems, the theoretical model, we adopt, is based on specific assumptions on the tumor matabolic needs, which lead to a set of self consistent equations accounting for the interplay between host organ and cancer. We use a probabilistic model to analyze the formation and spreading of metastatic colonies. We find that metastasis may be induced even before the clinical detectability of the tumor itself. We apply the developed methods to specific form of cancer like those affecting prostate and in particular how the growth curve can be combined with diagnostic markers, like PSA, to infer information of clinical interest like the effectiveness of treatments (surgical, chemio...).

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Perineural Invasion: A Route for Prostate Cancer Cells Migration and Dissemination
Authors: Gianluigi Taverna ¹, Fabio Grizzi ¹, Piergiuseppe Colombo ¹, Guido Giusti ¹, Mauro Seveso ¹, Pier Carlo Muzzio ^2,3 and Pier Paolo Graziotti ¹
Affiliations: ¹ IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy; E-Mails: gianluigi.taverna@humanitas.it (G.T.); fabio.grizzi@humanitasresearch.it (F.G.); piergiuseppe.colombo@humanitas.it (P.C.); guido.giusti@humanitas.it (G.G.); mauro.seveso@humanitas.it (M.S.); pierpaolo.graziotti@humanitas.it (P.P.G.)
² Department of Medical-Diagnostic Sciences and Special Therapies, University of Padua, Via 8 Febbraio 1848, 2 – 35121 Padua, Italy; E-Mail; pcmuzzio@unipd.it (P.C.M.)
³ I.O.V. – Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS - Via Gattamelata 64 – 35128 Padua, Italy
Abstract: Despite advances in our genomic and cellular knowledge, prostate carcinoma (PC) remains one of the major public health problems throughout the world. It is now recognized to be highly heterogeneous: it encompasses a wide range of clinical behaviours, and is underpinned by a complex array of gene alterations that affect molecular, cellular and supra-cellular processes operating at various spatial and temporal scales. It is still widely debated as to how PC progress through carcinogenesis and acquire its metastatic ability. PC metastasis is composed of a complex cascade that involves a variety of critical steps beginning with detachment from the primary tumour and ending with growth of the tumour at a distant site. It is recognized that PC shows a strong predilection to spread to the bones and that a high number of factors produced by the bone microenvironment contribute to the pathogenesis of cancer skeletal metastasis. Several studies have suggested that likely other carcinomas, perineural invasion and dissemination of neoplastic cells along intra- and extra-prostatic nerves is a route of PC spread. In the majority of these studies, the absence or presence of perineural invasion was compared with outcome, with controversial results. Here we discuss the prognostic utility of perineural invasion in both thin core biopsies and radical prostatectomy specimens, and its potentiality as a target for new, effective and less toxic therapeutical interventions.