Cancer

Abstract

Cancer is the term to capture a large set of diseases characterized by inappropriate and unrestricted cellular behaviors. While often named by the organ of origin, the vast majority of cancers arise from epithelial cells with genetic damage. A key structure that is disrupted in cancer is called an adherens junction, which normally connects neighboring epithelial cells. The loss of adherens junctions promotes cancer by allowing epithelial cells to detach from each other and also frees up microfilaments for cell crawling and division. Cancer cells manipulate the abilities of other cell types to their benefit. Cancer cells can entice fibroblasts to degrade extracellular matrix and secrete growth factors to support cancer progression. Cancer cells exploit the capacity of immune cells to travel in and out of the bloodstream in order to metastasize. Unlike cancer cells, these co-opted cells are genetically stable, and so approaches to target them so that they can no longer assist cancer cells may prove valuable.