The transition from collective to single-cell invasion in metastatic tumors has been regarded as the consequence of oncogenic drivers in concert with extracellular triggers received from the tumor microenvironment. In this issue, Yoon and colleagues (https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202308080) have identified an epigenetic program by which collective niches release laminin-332 and thereby cause the detachment and invasion of fully individualized tumor cells.
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