Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Currently,
an estimated 150,000 new cases of CRC and over 50,000 deaths are caused by this disease
annually in the United States.
1
,
2
Although localized tumor growth may cause significant organ dysfunction and even
death, metastases cause most (∼90%) human cancer deaths.
3
The ability to metastasize is linked with the ability of cancer cells to invade adjacent
tissues, gain access to vascular or lymphatic channels, and survive transit through
the bloodstream so that they may extravasate, then reside, and finally colonize heterologous
organs or tissues. Cancer cells acquire the capacity of invasion and metastasis through
regulated processes related to tissue development and homeostasis. Identification
of the key regulators of these processes may provide valuable prognostic information
to patients with CRC as well as opportunities for enhanced intervention.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 28, 2008
Accepted:
May 8,
2008
Footnotes
Supported by grants CA69457, DK52334, CA084239, DK07673, CA106183, CA95103, CA068485, CA46413, and CA77839 from the National Institutes of Health.
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Mosby, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
