Arresting supporters: targeting neutrophils in metastasis

Abstract

It is becoming increasingly clear that leukocytes dynamically regulate cancer progression and metastasis, and among leukocytes, granulocytic cells abundantly accumulate in metastatic organs; however, their function in metastasis remains controversial. In a recent report in Nature, Wculek and Malanchi clarify the role of mature neutrophils as mediators of metastatic initiation and provide a targeted approach to prevent the pro-metastatic activity of neutrophils in breast cancer models.

Figure 1

Diverse paracrine inputs from granulocytic cells activate the MAPK signaling pathway in cancer cells, which increases their metastatic fitness. Drugs that inhibit these paracrine inputs and reduce metastasis in mouse models are also shown.