Mechanisms and Future of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Metastasis

Abstract

Lung cancer, renowned for its fast progression and metastatic potency, is rising to become a leading cause of death globally. It has been long observed that lung cancer is particularly ept in spawning distant metastasis at its early stages, and it can readily colonize virtually any human organ. In recent years, cancer research has shed light on why lung cancer is endowed with its exceptional ability to metastasize. In this review, we will take a comprehensive look at the current research on lung cancer metastasis, including molecular pathways, anatomical features and genetic traits that make lung cancer intrinsically metastatic, as we go from lung cancer’s general metastatic potential to the particular metastasis mechanisms in multiple organs. We highly concerned about the advanced discovery and development of lung cancer metastasis, indicating the importance of lung cancer specific gene mutations, heterogeneity or biomarker discovery, and discussing potential opportunities and challenges. We will also introduce some current treatments that targets certain metastatic strategies of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Advances made in these regards could be critical to our current knowledge base of lung cancer metastasis.

Photodynamic Therapy with an AlPcS4Cl Gold Nanoparticle Conjugate Decreases Lung Cancer’s Metastatic Potential

“…Proliferation is involved in secondary tumour formation once cancer has invaded or migrated to a new location [1]. Avoiding secondary tumour formation may improve the prognosis for certain types of cancer, particularly lung cancer, which has been documented to produce secondary tumour formation [35]. It has been discovered that treatment can cure secondary cancer only in a tiny percentage of cases, where it has been established that secondary malignancies are incurable, and that the strategy of treatment should be focused on controlling the disease or managing any symptoms.…”

Frontiers of MicroRNA Signature in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

“…NSCLC metastasis is a complex, multistep process involving a number of molecular and genetic changes, and is a sign of poor prognosis (Zhu et al, 2020 ). As described avobe, some miRNAs are closely implicated in fundamental processes of NSCLC metastasis.…”

Multimodal Imaging-Based Potential Visualization of the Tumor Microenvironment in Bone Metastasis

“…Major imaging findings in BM are summarized in Table 1. When the primary lesion is located in the thyroid, lung, liver, or kidney, osteoclast activation and its interaction with the bone stroma lead to an osteolytic pattern on CT [47][48][49][50] and low SI in T1WI on MRI [51][52][53][54]. 18 F-FDG PET/CT generally depicts high FDG uptake in BM lesions from the lung [45,55,56], whereas those from the liver or kidney show low FDG uptake [57,58], which is related to FDG avidity of the primary lesion to some extent.…”