Cancer Metastasis

Tumor metastasis is one of the hallmarks of cancer and is considered to be the main cause of death for most cancer patients. The process of metastasis is very complex as the characteristics of invading tumor cells are driven by various epigenetic and genetic changes. It is well known that the primary tumors are different than metastatic tumors, hence presenting challenges in treatment as most of the treatment is directed towards the primary tumor. What role immune cells play with invading metastatic tumor cells is not well understood. Therefore, understanding how the tumor microenvironment interacts and allows the invading tumor cells to establish at a distant site is important for unravelling the mechanism of metastasis. Thus, identifying potential molecular targets in the process of metastasis is critical before making any therapeutic interventions.