Organotropism of breast cancer metastasis.

Breast cancer causes mortality by metastasizing to a variety of vital organs, such as bone, lung, brain and liver. Effective therapeutic intervention of this deadly process relies on a better mechanistic understanding of metastasis organotropism. Recent studies have confirmed earlier speculations that metastasis is a non-random process and is dependent on intricate tumor-stroma interactions at the target organ. Both the intrinsic properties of breast cancer cells and the host organ microenvironment are important in determining the efficiency of organ-specific metastasis. Advances in animal modeling, in vivo imaging and functional genomics have accelerated the discovery of important molecular mediators of organ-specific metastasis. A conceptual framework of breast cancer organotropism is emerging and will be instrumental in guiding future efforts in this exciting research field.