Cancer Stem Cells and Metastasis

Abstract

Decades of cancer research have led to substantial progress in the treatment of primary breast cancers. Despite of the advancement in this field, treating a metastatic disease has remained a mammoth task. One of the possible theories explaining metastatic disease involves the cancer stem cells (CSCs). CSCs have been shown to be an integral part of solid tumors. The process of metastasis involves the fine orchestration between CSCs and other microenvironmental factors. This chapter will provide an overview about the process of metastasis and the interactive role of CSCs with the components of the microenvironment in each phase of the metastatic cascade.

Keywords: breast cancer; cytokines and chemokines; epithelial-to-mesenchymal transistion-EMT; metastasis; stem cells.