Breast Cancer Cells Retrain T Cells to Invade Specific Tissues

Through a process that resembles seeding plants, cancer cells break away from a primary tumor and travel through tissues until they find fertile breeding grounds that will support their growth. Once cancer spreads, there are few effective treatment options.¹ For example, even though diagnostic and therapeutic advances have increased breast cancer survival rates, metastatic disease remains the leading cause of death for these patients.² Despite this devastating track record, very little is known about the mechanisms that underlie cancer metastasis.³

The human body is equipped with various defense systems to prevent metastasis, but some tumors can influence a tissue’s immune response so that it instead supports cancer seed germination. Scientists now take a closer look at tumor-immune cell crosstalk to identify the molecules and cell types that act as fertilizers and prepare tissues for the arrival of circulating tumor cells.

In a recent paper published in Cell Reports, Karin de ...