Fusion of tumour cells with bone marrow-derived cells: a unifying explanation for metastasis
- 1 May 2008
- journal article
- Published by Springer Nature in Nature Reviews Cancer
- Vol. 8 (5) , 377-386
- https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc2371
Abstract
The causes of metastasis remain elusive despite vast information on cancer cells. We posit that cancer cell fusion with macrophages or other migratory bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) provides an explanation. BMDC-tumour hybrids have been detected in numerous animal models and recently in human cancer. Molecular studies indicate that gene expression in such hybrids reflects a metastatic phenotype. Should BMDC-tumour fusion be found to underlie invasion and metastasis in human cancer, new approaches for therapy would surely follow.Keywords
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