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In vitro transformed cells and cancer-derived cells are able to survive and grow in the absence of anchorage to the extracellular matrix (ECM) and their neighboring cells, termed anchorage independence of growth, correlates closely with tumorigenicity in animal models. This property of cancer cells presumably reflects the tendency of tumor cells to survive and grow in inappropriate locations in vivo. Such incorrect localization, as occurs in invasion and metastasis, is the characteristic that distinguishes malignant from benign tumors.
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© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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(2011). Anchorage-Independent Cell Growth. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_262
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_262
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-16482-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-16483-5
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