Albini A
Advanced Biotechnology Center, National Institute for Research on Cancer, Genova, Italy.
Pathol Oncol Res. 1998;4(3):230-41. doi: 10.1007/BF02905254.
The spread of cancer cells from a primary tumor to distant organs is the major cause of death of cancer patients. Metastatic lesions are often resistent to cancer therapy because of the progressive phenotypic changes that they have undergone. Several genetic and epigenetic factors, both in the cell and in the host, contribute to the development of tumor progression towards metastases. In this review we will analyze the steps involved in tumor metastases, which can be potential targets for anti-metastatic therapy. One of the most critical events in cancer metastasis is the invasion of basement membranes. An assay which we developed over ten years ago, the matrigel "chemoinvasion" assay, has been a useful tool for studying the mechanisms involved in tumor and endothelial cell invasion of basement membranes and for the screening of anti-invasive agents. Here we will describe the assay and review some of the major results obtained with it.
癌细胞从原发性肿瘤扩散到远处器官是癌症患者死亡的主要原因。由于转移性病变所经历的渐进性表型变化，它们往往对癌症治疗具有抗性。细胞内和宿主体内的几种遗传和表观遗传因素都有助于肿瘤向转移发展。在这篇综述中，我们将分析肿瘤转移所涉及的步骤，这些步骤可能是抗转移治疗的潜在靶点。癌症转移中最关键的事件之一是基底膜的侵袭。我们在十多年前开发的一种检测方法，即基质胶“化学侵袭”检测法，一直是研究肿瘤和内皮细胞侵袭基底膜所涉及机制以及筛选抗侵袭剂的有用工具。在此，我们将描述该检测方法并回顾用其获得的一些主要结果。
