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The Roles of MicroRNAs in the Cancer Invasion-Metastasis Cascade

  • Review Paper
  • Published:
Cancer Microenvironment

Abstract

Cancer metastasis results from a multi-step cascading process that includes: 1) vascularization of the primary tumor; 2) detachment and invasion of cancer cells; 3) intravasation into lymphatic and blood vessels; 4) survival and arrest in the circulation; 5) extravasation into distant organs; and 6) colonization and growth of metastatic tumors. microRNAs (miRNAs) play critical roles in this multi-step process, both promoting and suppressing metastasis. This review updates the progress made in understanding the roles of miRNAs for invasion and metastasis during cancer progression. A specific miRNA signature of cancer metastasis is also reviewed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Milena Nicoloso for drawing the Fig. 1 and Sherri De Jesus for her technical editing expertise. George A. Calin, a Fellow, is supported by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Research Trust, The University of Texas System Regents Research Scholar Program, and by the Ladjevardian Regents Research Scholar Fund. This study was supported in part by a grant from the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation and by NIH grant 1R01CA135444. The authors acknowledge that all related articles are not cited in this article due to the space limit.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Department of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 354, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Xiao-Feng Le, Omar Merchant, Robert C. Bast Jr. & George A. Calin

  2. The Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNAs, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    George A. Calin

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  1. Xiao-Feng Le
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  4. George A. Calin
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Correspondence to Xiao-Feng Le or George A. Calin.

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Le, XF., Merchant, O., Bast, R.C. et al. The Roles of MicroRNAs in the Cancer Invasion-Metastasis Cascade. Cancer Microenvironment 3, 137–147 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12307-010-0037-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12307-010-0037-4

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