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Review
. 2024 Feb 15;16(4):783.
doi: 10.3390/cancers16040783.

A Recipe for Successful Metastasis: Transition and Migratory Modes of Ovarian Cancer Cells

Aleksandra Śliwa  1 , Anna Szczerba  1 , Paweł Piotr Pięta  1 , Piotr Białas  1 , Jakub Lorek  2 , Ewa Nowak-Markwitz  2 , Anna Jankowska  1
Affiliations
Review

A Recipe for Successful Metastasis: Transition and Migratory Modes of Ovarian Cancer Cells

Aleksandra Śliwa et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

One of the characteristic features of ovarian cancer is its early dissemination. Metastasis and the invasiveness of ovarian cancer are strongly dependent on the phenotypical and molecular determinants of cancer cells. Invasive cancer cells, circulating tumor cells, and cancer stem cells, which are responsible for the metastatic process, may all undergo different modes of transition, giving rise to mesenchymal, amoeboid, and redifferentiated epithelial cells. Such variability is the result of the changing needs of cancer cells, which strive to survive and colonize new organs. This would not be possible if not for the variety of migration modes adopted by the transformed cells. The most common type of metastasis in ovarian cancer is dissemination through the transcoelomic route, but transitions in ovarian cancer cells contribute greatly to hematogenous and lymphatic dissemination. This review aims to outline the transition modes of ovarian cancer cells and discuss the migratory capabilities of those cells in light of the known ovarian cancer metastasis routes.

Keywords: AET; AMT; CTC; EAT; EMT; MAT; MET; cancer stem cells; metastasis; migration; ovarian cancer; transition modes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Factors associated with different transition modes of ovarian cancer cells (created with Biorender.com, accessed on 27 November 2023).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Characteristic features of different migratory modes of ovarian cancer cells (created with Biorender.com, accessed on 27 November 2023).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Metastatic routes of ovarian cancer (created with Biorender.com, accessed on 27 November 2023).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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