International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science (IJRIAS) | Volume V, Issue III, January 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186

Bio-mechanistic Insight on Cancer Cells Metastatic Inefficiency

 Idongesit Asuquo Victor1*, Opeyemi S. Soremekun1, Effiom Orok Etim2, Mfonabasi Uduak Inyang3
1Cancer Research and Molecular Biology Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
2Department of Biochemistry, College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar, Nigeria
3Department of Biochemistry, College of Medical Sciences, University of Uyo, Nigeria
*Corresponding Author

Abstract: – Cancer metastasis has over the years remain the major causes of cancer death. The biochemical cascade of cancer metastasis flows through a sequence of events involving loss of cellular adhesion, increased motility and invasiveness, entry and survival in the circulation, exit into new tissue (extravasation), and eventual colonization of a distant site. Evasion of the inherent mechanisms halting transformed cells from primary site disseminating to colonize at the secondary or distant site is the hallmark of metastasis. However, metastasis is not an efficient process as most transformed cells (cancer cells) leaving the primary site do not metastasize to distant organs. The all-out inefficiency in metastatic processes are due to myriads of inherent biophysiological homeostatic mechanisms recruited against metastatic cells which involves the switch-on mechanisms of metastatic suppressor genes (MSGs), programmed cell death, immunosurveillance system, angiogenic latency and tumour growth arrest, interstitial pressure, haemodynamic forces and sheering. Inability of all the metastasizing cells to escape, evade or co-opt multiple barriers refined by the inherent programmed homeostatic mechanisms delineate the central paradigm that cancer metastases is an inefficient process. The few transformed cells that successfully metastasize to distant organs leads to cancer death. The “chameleon nature” metastatic cells (evasion of apoptosis, sustained angiogenesis, self-sufficiency in growth signal, tissue invasion and metastasis, limitless potentials for replication, insensitive to antigrowth signal) remain one of the major challenges in the treatment of cancer patient as the development of a potent anti-cancer therapy specific for cancer cells without affecting normal cells (healthy bystander cells) still remains a “holy grail”. However, a pellucid insight on the biomechanistic events delineating metastatic inefficiency will offer a new insight in developing a more potent therapy specific for malignant cells. This worked reviewed the biomechanistic events involved in metastatic inefficiency that may pave the way for researchers to uncover the critical areas in the development of a potent anti-cancer therapy.
Keywords: Metastatic suppressor gene, Tumorigenicity, Metastatic inefficiency, Apoptosis, Malignant cell, Tumour dormancy, Immunosurveillance.

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