Purpose of review: The goal of this review is to summarize recent experimental and clinical evidence for metastatic latency and the molecular mechanisms that regulate tumor dormancy in the bone.
Recent findings: Tumor dormancy contributes to the progression of metastasis and thus has significant clinical implications for prognosis and treatment. Tumor-intrinsic signaling and specialized bone marrow niches play a pivotal role in determining the dormancy status of bone disseminated tumor cells. Experimental models have provided significant insight into the effects of the bone microenvironment on tumor cells; however, these models remain limited in their ability to study dormancy. Despite recent advances in the mechanistic understanding of how tumor cells remain dormant in the bone for prolonged periods of time, the signals that trigger spontaneous dormancy escape remain unclear. This review highlights the need for further investigation of mechanisms underlying tumor dormancy using clinically relevant models.
Keywords: Bone metastasis; Breast cancer; Tumor dormancy.