Metastatic dissemination has lethal consequences for cancer patients. Accruing evidence supports the hypothesis that tumor cells can migrate and metastasize as clusters of cells while maintaining contacts with one another. Collective metastasis enables tumor cells to colonize secondary sites more efficiently, resist cell death, and evade the immune system. On the other hand, tumor cell clusters face unique challenges for dissemination particularly during systemic dissemination. Here, we review recent progress toward understanding how tumor cell clusters overcome these disadvantages as well as mechanisms they utilize to gain advantages throughout the metastatic process. We consider useful models for studying collective metastasis and reflect on how the study of collective metastasis suggests new opportunities for eradicating and preventing metastatic disease.

中文翻译：

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肿瘤细胞簇集体迁移和转移的协调


转移性播散对癌症患者具有致命的后果。越来越多的证据支持这样的假设：肿瘤细胞可以作为细胞簇迁移和转移，同时保持彼此的接触。集体转移使肿瘤细胞能够更有效地定殖次要部位，抵抗细胞死亡并逃避免疫系统。另一方面，肿瘤细胞簇面临着独特的传播挑战，特别是在全身传播过程中。在这里，我们回顾了最近在了解肿瘤细胞簇如何克服这些缺点以及它们在整个转移过程中获得优势的机制方面取得的进展。我们考虑研究集体转移的有用模型，并反思集体转移的研究如何为根除和预防转移性疾病提供新的机会。