Potential new therapeutic target for cancer metastasis

Interactions between cancer stem cells and their niche govern metastatic colonization. —   Malanchi, et al., find that infiltrating tumour cells need to induce stromal periostin (POSTN) expression in the secondary target organ to initiate colonization. POSTN is required for cancer stem cell maintenance, and blocking its function prevents metastasis.  POSTN recruits Wnt ligands and thereby increases Wnt signalling in cancer stem cells at the site of secondary colonization.  The authors hypothesize that the influence on stromal cells by infiltrating tumour cells is an important step in metastatic colonization, and that preventing de novo niche formation may be a novel strategy for the treatment of metastatic disease.

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