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Part of the book series: Cancer Treatment and Research ((CTAR,volume 109))

Abstract

Metastasis is the major cause of death from cancer. By the time many cancers are diagnosed, metastasis has already occurred and the presence of multiple metastases makes complete eradication by surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or biotherapy nearly impossible. As with other cancers, current therapies for distant metastatic disease have had minimal impact on outcome. Modifications of current treatment regimens are unlikely to significantly impact the natural history of liver metastases. Therefore, a better understanding of the biology of metastasis and the molecular events leading to the metastatic phenotype is essential if new and innovative anti-neoplastic therapeutic approaches are to be developed. This review will highlight the molecular and biologic alterations that occur in tumors that lead to the development of liver metastasis. Although numerous tumors have the potential to metastasize to the liver, metastases from colon cancer will be used as a paradigm for liver metastasis in this review.

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Berman, R.S., Portera, C.A., Ellis, L.M. (2001). Biology of Liver Metastases. In: Talamonti, M.S., Pappas, S.G. (eds) Liver-Directed Therapy for Primary and Metastatic Liver Tumors. Cancer Treatment and Research, vol 109. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3371-6_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3371-6_10

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