Chuck Drake, Johns Hopkins University

Three Problems:

• Do cancer cells metastasize as single cells, as clusters of tumor cells, as clusters of tumor and myeloid cells, or as fusions between tumor cells and macrophages?
• What is the relative role of passive (fluid dynamic) versus active processes (diapedesis, extravascation) in the establishment of metastases from tumor cells circulating in the vascular or lymphatic compartments?
• At what stage in the metastatic process are tumor cells most susceptible to immunological intervention? 

Background Papers:

• Active versus passive mechanisms in metastasis: do cancer cells crawl into vessels, or are they pushed?
• Integrins in cancer: biological implications and therapeutic opportunities
• Fusion of tumour cells with bone marrow-derived cells: a unifying explanation for metastasis
• Circulating Tumor Cell Clusters in the Peripheral Blood of Colorectal Cancer Patients