Molecular Regulation of Tumor Cells Migration and Metastatic Growth

Cancer cell metastasis - the spread of cancer cells from the primary tumor to distant organs forming secondary tumors - is an advanced stage of malignancy and the most common cause of death in cancer patients. To initiate the metastatic process, cancer cells have to gain the ability to detach from the primary tumor mass, invade their surrounding tissues and extracellular matrix, and intravasate into the blood and lymphatic vessels being thus ready to travel to distant sites of the body through the circulation.

This multistep process involves complex cellular mechanisms that regulate cytoskeletal and membrane dynamics, while the implicated molecular mechanisms are not fully understood.

The aim of this Research Topic is to provide new insight into the molecular factors that regulate migration and invasion in cancer cells. We welcome Original Research Articles and Review Articles exploring, but not limited to, the following topics:

- Mechanisms of cancer cell migration and invasion
- Signaling pathways involved in the metastatic process
- Mutational drivers of the malignant phenotype
- Influence of the tumor microenvironment leading to metastasis
- Cytoskeletal changes during cell migration and invasion


Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section and will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic.