View Item 
        •   Utrecht University Student Theses Repository Home
        • UU Theses Repository
        • Theses
        • View Item
        •   Utrecht University Student Theses Repository Home
        • UU Theses Repository
        • Theses
        • View Item
        JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

        Browse

        All of UU Student Theses RepositoryBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

        Predicting breast cancer metastasis; formation of the pre-metastatic niche.

        Thumbnail
        View/Open
        Thesis K. Kersten.pdf (443.4Kb)
        Publication date
        2011
        Author
        Kersten, K.
        Metadata
        Show full item record
        Summary
        The leading cause of death in breast cancer patients is tumor metastasis. This process includes several steps that all need to be completed successfully to develop distant metastatic disease. Tumor cells disseminate from the primary tumor and cross multiple barriers like the basement membrane and extracellular matrix. Subsequently, tumor cells enter the circulation by a process called intravasation, and they are transported throughout the body. At specific sites, tumor cells adhere to the blood vessel walls, breach the vascular endothelium (extravasation) and colonize target organs. Breast cancer shows striking tissue tropism for the formation of metastases in lung, bone, brain and liver. The molecular mechanisms underlying this specificity are not yet known, but most likely it is caused by an interplay between tumor cells and the microenvironment at target organs. Studies have shown that, before arrival of tumor cells, the microenvironment in target organs is modulated to form a permissive ‘pre-metastatic niche’. Unraveling the mechanisms underlying the formation of this ‘pre-metastatic niche’ might contribute to our ability to predict breast cancer metastasis and the development of specific anti-cancer drugs and therapies.
        URI
        https://studenttheses.uu.nl/handle/20.500.12932/6631
        Collections
        • Theses
        Utrecht university logo