Understanding the mechanisms of metastasis

Metastases – that is, secondary tumours formed by cancer cells – pose a major problem in many forms of cancer. As offshoots of the primary tumour, they can grow in distant organs and are often difficult to detect. A research team led by Dr Tobias Reiff at the Institute of Genetics at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) has now discovered molecular mechanisms that enable cancer cells to establish themselves in other tissues. The Wilhelm Sander Foundation funded the project with approximately 183,000 euros. The findings have now been published in the journal *Nature Communications*.