This book covers important biological, immunological, and molecular information essential for understanding the rationale and results of experiments and clinical observations on cell-cell and cell substrate adhesion; hydrolytic activities, cell motility; immunological and other host elements of the host-tumor ecosystem (at different sites of the metastic process); genetic and epigenetic elements of the acquisition and the expression of invasive phenotypes. 38 tables and 60 computer-drawn figures provide comprehensive overviews, and a methodological chapter emphasizing the differences and similarities between assays and their relevance for natural situations has also been included. Clinical and experimental cancer researchers, as well as as post-graduate students interested in cancer research, will find this book to be an indispensable reference resource.

Metastatic disease is the most lethal aspect of human malignancies, making the understanding and continued research of the process of metastasis a crucial step in treating cancer. The proposed book, entitled “Experimental and Clinical Metastasis: A Comprehensive Review” aims to provide a clear and extensive review of the clinical and experimental implications of metastatic disease. This work focuses on recent contributions to the field of metastasis, and will highlight crucial findings in the molecular understanding of disseminated disease as well as standard and personalized medicine currently being investigated in the clinic. Topics will include, among many, gene properties of metastatic cells, molecular mechanisms of tumour growth and spread, animal models of metastasis, and clinical implications, markers and treatment for metastatic disease. With the participation of worldwide experts in the field of oncology, from major academic and government centres, this book will provide a leading manual for the study of the metastatic process, from benchside science to bedside care. In this light, the proposed book will facilitate classroom learning for both medical and graduate students, as well as serve as a tool for physicians and researchers interested in the metastatic process. In addition, this book will include the latest advances in basic science as well as leading technologies and theories of targeting metastatic cells. Most importantly, not only will basic and clinical aspects be discussed, but furthermore, the translational aspect of research in metastatic diseases will be emphasized.

Most cancer deaths are a result of metastasis. The spread of a primary tumor to colonize neighboring and distant organs is the relentless endgame that defines the neoplastic process. Patients who have been diagnosed with cancer are treated to prevent both the recurrence of the tumor at the site of origin and metastasis that would re-stage them as advanced stage IV cancer. Historically and still with some types of cancer, stage IV is perceived by patients as “terminal.” Fortunately, recent molecular therapies have extended the lives of patients with advanced cancer and reassuringly people living with metastatic disease increasingly visit our clinics. What is the path forward? Given that the consilience of science and medicine is a dynamic art from which therapies arise, it would be misguided to consider any single work adequate at capturing the horizon for research. So with humility we constructed this text as primer for scientists. It begins with a broad introduction to the clinical management of common cancers. This is intended to serve as a foundation for investigators to consider when developing basic science hypotheses. Unquestionably, medical and surgical care of cancer patients reveals biology and dictates how novel therapeutics will ultimately be evaluated in clinical trials. The second section of this text offers provocative and evolving insights that underscore the breadth of science involved in the elucidation of cancer metastasis biology. The text concludes with information that integrates scientific and clinical foundations to highlight translational research. This book serves as a framework for scientists to conceptualize clinical and translational knowledge on the complexity of disease that is metastatic cancer.

An overview of the current systems biology-based knowledge and the experimental approaches for deciphering the biological basis of cancer.