ReviewCancer discovery2021
Metastasis-Initiating Cells and Ecosystems.
Review in Cancer discovery, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 241 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
241 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 344 citations in OpenAlex.
- Modeling metastasis and predicting drug response with malignant effusion-derived organoids: a systematic review and quantitative assessment.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Non-oncologic to oncologic drug: A systematic review of drug repurposing in cancer.Cancer chemotherapy and pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Prognostic value of stem-like circulating tumor cells in patients with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2023Pooled it
- [Parecoxib sodium down-regulates CXCL8-CXCR1/2 to improve inflammatory microenvironment and promote patient recovery following laparoscopic radical resection of rectal cancer].Nan fang yi ke da xue xue bao = Journal of Southern Medical University · 2024Trial
- Single-cell sequencing profiling of intratumoral heterogeneity and immunosuppressive microenvironment in primary thyroid cancer and lymph node metastases.Oncoimmunology · 2026Article
- Investigation of exercise-mimetic bioactive molecules as modulators of MMP activity and expression in cancer cells.Journal of enzyme inhibition and medicinal chemistry · 2026Article
- Niches in cancer: from primary tumors to metastatic disease.Journal of hematology & oncology · 2026Review
- IGF2BP2 remodels the lung metastatic immune microenvironment to promote bladder cancer metastasis.Cellular & molecular immunology · 2026Article
- From bench to bedside: the evolving role of iodine in thyroid cancer management.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2026Review
- Ectopic integrin β1 overproduction by squamous carcinoma cells contributes to immune evasion-associated metastasis.Cancer letters · 2026Article
- Biomimetic Scaffold-Based 3D Models for Decoding Cancer Biology and Advancing Therapy.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D, induces cell death and purinergic signaling modulation in cutaneous melanoma cells.Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2026Article
- Review
- Mechanistic study of LINC00839-mediated suppression of anoikis in hepatocellular carcinoma via regulation of FOXM1.Translational oncology · 2026Article
- Cancer Stem Cell Quiescence: Molecular and Microenvironmental Evidence for an Actively Regulated Adaptive Survival Strategy.Cancer medicine · 2026Review
- Current therapeutic interventions to target cancer stem cells for metastasis.International journal of clinical oncology · 2026Review
- Charting intratumor heterogeneity from bench to bedside.Nature cancer · 2026Review
- Cancer stem cells are hyper-responsive sensors of the tumour microenvironment and regulate metastasis dynamics through YAP/TAZ.Nature cell biology · 2026Article
- Sarcoma metastasis: distinct biological principles beyond the carcinoma paradigm.Cancer metastasis reviews · 2026Review
- Review
181 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Metastasis is initiated and sustained through therapy by cancer cells with stem-like and immune-evasive properties, termed metastasis-initiating cells (MIC). Recent progress suggests that MICs result from the adoption of a normal regenerative progenitor phenotype by malignant cells, a phenotype with intrinsic programs to survive the stresses of the metastatic process, undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transitions, enter slow-cycling states for dormancy, evade immune surveillance, establish supportive interactions with organ-specific niches, and co-opt systemic factors for growth and recurrence after therapy. Mechanistic understanding of the molecular mediators of MIC phenotypes and host tissue ecosystems could yield cancer therapeutics to improve patient outcomes. SIGNIFICANCE: Understanding the origins, traits, and vulnerabilities of progenitor cancer cells with the capacity to initiate metastasis in distant organs, and the host microenvironments that support the ability of these cells to evade immune surveillance and regenerate the tumor, is critical for developing strategies to improve the prevention and treatment of advanced cancer. Leveraging recent progress in our understanding of the metastatic process, here we review the nature of MICs and their ecosystems and offer a perspective on how this knowledge is informing innovative treatments of metastatic cancers.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.