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NotSanguine writes:

MedicalXpress.Com is reporting on new research into how cancer metastasizes. In a paper published on 18 April 2017 in Cell Reports, researchers at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) identified pathways used by cancer to spread beyond their primary tumors.

From the MedicalXpress article:

Even in remission, cancer looms. Former cancer patients and their doctors are always on alert for metastatic tumors. Now scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered why some cancers may reoccur after years in remission.

The findings, published recently in the journal Cell Reports, show that invasive tumors can begin sending out tumor cells far earlier than previously thought. These escaping cells—which can enter the bloodstream before the primary tumor is detected—may seed secondary tumors that don't show up for years.

Importantly, the scientists demonstrated that the escaping tumor cells reach the bloodstream by entering blood vessels deep within the dense tumor core, upending the long-held belief that metastatic cells come from a tumor's invasive borders.

"The actual process of cancer cell dissemination via hematogenous routes is a relatively under-studied process, but we finally have an answer as to where it takes place," said TSRI Assistant Professor Elena Deryugina, who led the study in a long-term collaboration with TSRI Staff Scientist William Kiosses.

Journal Reference: Intratumoral Cancer Cell Intravasation Can Occur Independent of Invasion into the Adjacent Stroma

Original Submission