The hallmark, and probably the deadliest aspect of cancer, is the invasive and metastatic nature of the disease. Cancer cell invasive and metastatic behaviors are associated with the change of cellular mechanical properties that are brought by the complex interplay of activation/inactivation of multiple signaling pathways, which can occur at either the genetic or epigenetic level. It has been shown that metastatic tumor cells are much softer than morphologically similar benign cells in actual human samples which has paved the way for a new field - “cancer cell mechanobiology”. Subsequent studies from us and others further showed that cell mechanical properties provide quantitative assessment of tumor cell invasive and metastatic potential, which may be used as a diagnostic marker of metastatic cancer in human body fluid samples.
There has been tremendous progress in the field of cancer cell mechanobiology research. The goal of this Research Topic is to provide a platform to report the most recent findings as well as updated and concise review of the status of the research in the field. Specific subtopics include, but are not limited to:
• Molecular mechanisms underlying cancer cell mechanobiology
• Cancer cell mechanobiological studies in pre- and early malignant processes
• Cancer cell mechanopheonotype(s) as biomarker for cancer detection or therapeutic monitoring
• Cancer cell mechanophenotype as a potential drug target
The hallmark, and probably the deadliest aspect of cancer, is the invasive and metastatic nature of the disease. Cancer cell invasive and metastatic behaviors are associated with the change of cellular mechanical properties that are brought by the complex interplay of activation/inactivation of multiple signaling pathways, which can occur at either the genetic or epigenetic level. It has been shown that metastatic tumor cells are much softer than morphologically similar benign cells in actual human samples which has paved the way for a new field - “cancer cell mechanobiology”. Subsequent studies from us and others further showed that cell mechanical properties provide quantitative assessment of tumor cell invasive and metastatic potential, which may be used as a diagnostic marker of metastatic cancer in human body fluid samples.
There has been tremendous progress in the field of cancer cell mechanobiology research. The goal of this Research Topic is to provide a platform to report the most recent findings as well as updated and concise review of the status of the research in the field. Specific subtopics include, but are not limited to:
• Molecular mechanisms underlying cancer cell mechanobiology
• Cancer cell mechanobiological studies in pre- and early malignant processes
• Cancer cell mechanopheonotype(s) as biomarker for cancer detection or therapeutic monitoring
• Cancer cell mechanophenotype as a potential drug target