Cancer cells become dangerous when they acquire the ability to invade through physical barriers in the body and disseminate to distant sites. Recent evidence has demonstrated that cancer cells utilize specialized structures called invadopodia, unique protrusions that concentrate proteases such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), to escape blood vessels during the process of extravasation. Perhaps most exciting is the fact that inhibition of invadopodia through genetic or pharmacological means reduces the ability of cancer cells to extravasate and effectively blocks metastasis. This opens the door for the development of novel therapies targeting invadopodia and cancer metastasis.
Keywords: cancer; cell migration; intravital imaging; invadopodia; metastasis.