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Metastatic Colonization

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Cancer

  • 81 Accesses

Synonyms

Metastasis; Metastatic cancer; Systemic spread of cancer

Definition

The term metastatic colonization refers to the final biological events required for cancer cells to form a clinically relevant metastasis at a secondary cancer site(s). It is a distinct process in which disseminated cells survive and subsequently proliferate to form overt metastases within this site.

Characteristics

In order to successfully form overt metastases in a secondary organ/site, cancer cells must successfully complete all the steps of the metastatic process, as summarized in Fig. 1. A cancer cell must first survive, grow, and eventually break free from its primary cancer site. Figure 1shows a single layer of cells upon a basement membrane (thick gray line), with a single tumorigenic cell. During progressive growth, tumor cells can acquire malignant properties which enable them to invade through the basement membrane and escape the primary site. Cells must then move to a discontinuous secondary...

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References

  • Berger JC et al (2002) Metastasis suppressor genes: from gene identification to protein function and regulation. Cancer Biol Ther 4(8):805–812

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  • Chambers AF, Groom AC, MacDonald IC (2002) Dissemination and growth of cancer cells in metastatic sites. Nat Rev Cancer 2(8):563–572

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See Also

  • (2012) Basement Membrane. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of Cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 349. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_537

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  • (2012) Microenvironment. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of Cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 2296. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_3720

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  • (2012) Primary Cancer Site. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of Cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 2985. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_4732

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  • (2012) Secondary Cancer Site. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of Cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 3347. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_5199

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Chicago Medicine, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, MC 2115, 60637, Chicago, IL, USA

    Russell Szmulewitz

  2. Committee on Cancer Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Jennifer Taylor

  3. Department of Surgery, Section of Urology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Carrie Rinker-Schaffer

Authors
  1. Russell Szmulewitz
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  2. Jennifer Taylor
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  3. Carrie Rinker-Schaffer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Russell Szmulewitz .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Abt. Tumorgenetik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

    Manfred Schwab

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Szmulewitz, R., Taylor, J., Rinker-Schaffer, C. (2015). Metastatic Colonization. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_3676-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_3676-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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