Short-circuiting metastases

A U.S.-Dutch research team has shown that Src inhibitors in development to treat primary cancers could also prevent metastatic bone tumors after surgical removal of a breast tumor.¹ The question is whether Src inhibitors will prove safe in the setting of long-term prophylaxis.

Cancer cells can migrate from a primary tumor to distant sites and remain latent for many years before developing into metastatic tumors. The problem is that it's impossible to tell whether tumor cells have disseminated until a metastatic tumor arises. In addition, such tumors are invasive and aggressive. Indeed, more than 90% of cancer patients die from metastatic, not primary, tumors...