Agent-based modelling reveals strategies to reduce the fitness and metastatic potential of circulating tumour cell clusters.

Metastasis-the ability of cancer cells to disperse throughout the body and establish new tumours at distant locations-is responsible for most cancer-related deaths. Although both single and clusters of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) have been isolated from cancer patients, CTC clusters are generally associated with higher metastatic potential and worse prognosis. From an evolutionary perspective, being part of a cluster can provide cells with several benefits both in terms of survival (e.

Model-Systems to Understand the Biology and Clinical Significance of Circulating Tumor Cell Clusters.

The isolation of clusters of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from cancer patients has recently challenged the accepted view that the initiation of secondary tumors during metastasis involves the dissemination of individual cancer cells. As such clusters appear to be more aggressive than single tumor cells, CTC clusters are now considered a main player in the metastatic process, and many studies are exploring their diagnostic, prognostic, and clinical significance. However, several technical challenges limit advances in this area.