An extravascular route for tumour cells

摘要

Cancer deaths result primarily from metastases, which comprise mixed populations of tumour cells and which are often resistant to conventional therapies. Metastasis is a complex, multistep process, in which cells escape from the primary tumour through the vasculature, move from the vascular system into the target organ, and then form secondary tumours. Efforts to study the metastatic properties of different tumour cells that are involved in each aspect of this process have been challenged by inadequate tools 一 until now. In this issue, Wagenblast et al (page 358) deploy an innovative 'molecular-barcoding' technology, together with advanced DNA-sequencing techniques, to model the mixed (heterogeneous) populations of cells that comprise breast tumours. This approach enables the authors to study the molecular composition of the different cell populations that contribute to particular aspects of tumour formation and metastasis.