MECHANISMS OF MOTILITY AND METASTASIS
The Center for Translational Cancer Research
During cancer progression, cancer cells acquire the ability to leave
their site of origin and migrate to other sites in the body, a process
known as metastasis. In most cases, cancer is not a deadly disease
unless this motility change occurs. Thus, a major focus of research
in the CTCR is the study of the mechanisms by which stationary cells
transform into migratory cells. Several collaborative projects are
underway that seek to address these processes with the aim of developing
new methods to stop further cancer metastasis and shrink secondary
tumors at sites such as in liver, bone, brain, or lung. One project
examines movement of cancer cells, including glioma and breast cancer
cells, along nerve axon tracts and blood vessels. As an example,
brain metastases from breast cancer are often lethal within weeks
to months, and the research being conducted examines mechanisms of
metastasis, including homing to brain and tumor cell invasion into
tissue through blood vessels ("extravasation"), with the
hope of finding new ways to stop this from occurring. Another cooperative
project studies the role of RhoC GTPase in metastasis of a breast,
prostate and pancreatic cancer. RhoC is a homologue of the Ras oncogene
and belongs to the Rho-subfamily of small GTPases. RhoC is the third
member of this subfamily comprised of RhoA, RhoB, and RhoC, and is
involved in reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton leading to cellular
motility and invasion. Novel drugs targeting this pathway are under
study with the hope that they would be useful for stopping tumor
cells in their tracks.
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