Gupta P B, Mani S, Yang J, Hartwell K, Weinberg R A
Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02142, USA.
Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 2005;70:291-7. doi: 10.1101/sqb.2005.70.033.
The phenomenon of cancer metastasis remains poorly understood. We discuss here various conceptual frameworks that attempt to rationalize the mechanisms by which tumors acquire metastatic ability. Portrayal of cancer as a somatic Darwinian process occurring within a tissue fails to fully explain the phenomenon of metastatic competence. The biology of pre-neoplastic cells also complicates this picture, since the phenotypes of normal cellular precursors are clearly relevant to metastatic behavior following transformation. Recent experimental results help to shed light on these and other considerations regarding the molecular mechanisms of malignant progression.
癌症转移现象仍未得到充分理解。我们在此讨论各种概念框架，这些框架试图阐明肿瘤获得转移能力的机制。将癌症描绘为组织内发生的体细胞达尔文过程，无法完全解释转移能力这一现象。肿瘤前体细胞的生物学特性也使情况变得复杂，因为正常细胞前体的表型显然与转化后的转移行为相关。最近的实验结果有助于阐明这些以及其他有关恶性进展分子机制的考虑因素。
