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Self-Seeding in Cancer

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Minimal Residual Disease and Circulating Tumor Cells in Breast Cancer

Part of the book series: Recent Results in Cancer Research ((RECENTCANCER,volume 195))

Abstract

Despite significant progress in our understanding and treatment of metastatic cancer, nearly all metastatic cancers are incurable. In this Review, we use breast cancer as a model to highlight the limitations and inconsistencies of our existing treatment paradigms for metastatic disease. In turn, we offer a new theory of metastasis, termed “self-seeding. ” The self-seeding paradigm, well validated in mathematical, experimental and animal models, challenges the notion that cancers cells that leave a primary tumor cell, unidirectionally seed metastases in regional lymph nodes and/or distant sites. In contrast, there is mounting evidence that circulating tumor cells can move multi-directionally, seeding not only distant sites but also their tumors of origin. Here, we show that the self-seeding model may answer many of the quandaries intrinsic to understanding how cancer spreads and ultimately kills. Indeed, redirecting our research and treatment efforts within the self-seeding model may offer new possibilities for eradicating metastatic cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Elizabeth Comen & Larry Norton

Authors
  1. Elizabeth Comen
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  2. Larry Norton
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Larry Norton .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Breast Cancer Translational Res. Lab., Institut Jules Bordet, Boulevard de Waterloo 125, Brussels, 1000, Belgium

    Michail Ignatiadis

  2. , Breast Cancer Translational Res. Lab., Institut Jules Bordet, Boulevard de Waterloo 125, Brussels, 1000, Belgium

    Christos Sotiriou

  3. Zentrum für Experimentelle Medizin, Inst. Tumorbiologie, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, Hamburg, 20246, Germany

    Klaus Pantel

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Comen, E., Norton, L. (2012). Self-Seeding in Cancer. In: Ignatiadis, M., Sotiriou, C., Pantel, K. (eds) Minimal Residual Disease and Circulating Tumor Cells in Breast Cancer. Recent Results in Cancer Research, vol 195. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28160-0_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28160-0_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-28159-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-28160-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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