Berman R S, Portera C A, Ellis L M
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Cancer Treat Res. 2001;109:183-206. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4757-3371-6_10.
A primary goal of cancer research is an increased understanding of the molecular mechanisms mediating the process of cancer metastasis. Analyses of colon cancer cells (the seeds) and the microenvironment (the soil) have increased our understanding of the biologic mechanisms mediating metastasis formation. Insight into the molecular mechanisms regulating the pathobiology of colon cancer metastasis, as well as a better understanding of the interaction between the metastatic cell and the host environment (including the vasculature), should provide a foundation for new therapeutic approaches. To the clinician, it is readily apparent that by the time metastases form, most steps in the metastatic cascade have completed. Therefore, therapy to down-regulate or interrupt the last stages of metastasis, proliferation and angiogenesis as well as mechanisms to disrupt cell survival signals seems the most promising areas of investigation.
癌症研究的一个主要目标是增进对介导癌症转移过程的分子机制的理解。对结肠癌细胞（“种子”）和微环境（“土壤”）的分析增进了我们对介导转移形成的生物学机制的理解。深入了解调节结肠癌转移病理生物学的分子机制，以及更好地理解转移细胞与宿主环境（包括脉管系统）之间的相互作用，应为新的治疗方法提供基础。对于临床医生而言，显而易见的是，在转移形成时，转移级联反应的大多数步骤已经完成。因此，下调或中断转移的最后阶段、增殖和血管生成的疗法以及破坏细胞存活信号的机制似乎是最有前景的研究领域。
