Grant: Project Grant

Metastasis is the primary cause of death due to cancer. It is the process by which tumor cells leave the orignal lesion and travel to distant organs where they form new lesions. It is now clear that inflammation at the distant site contributes to the formation of a spatially defined 'niche' that facilitates the initial formation of micrometastic lesions that have the potential to expand and become lethal. We have shown that an extracellular matrix component, hyaluronan, accumulates at these sites. In this project we will determine if hyaluronan is functionally important for niche formation and if blocking the interaction between hyaluronan and tumor cells inhibits micrometastatic lesion formation. Therefore, this project will lay the groundwork for developing a new, non-toxic therapeutic strategy for inhibiting the formation of lethal metastatic lesions.