Epistemology of the Origin of Cancer IV: Predisposing Conditions for Metastases
Epistemology of the Origin of Cancer IV: Predisposing Conditions for Metastases
The sequential distant metastatic niche model can serve as a coherent framework to better understand metastatic progression: metastatic cancer satellites, each with its distinct biology, are shielded from the immune system, and consequently migrate to distant sites, which fulfills the predisposing conditions for metastases. Analogously it provides biological meaning to long observed phenomena so far not satisfactorily explained: metastasis occurs concurrently with carcinogenesis; vast molecular and clinical heterogeneity; most disseminated cancer cells remain dormant for years; surgery or anticancer therapy can paradoxically trigger relapse; oncology therapies, despite direct anti-cancer cellular effects, have so far failed to substantially alter the natural history of most epithelial cancers.
