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Metastatic potential as a heritable trait

Cancer metastasis has historically been viewed in the context of the mutational spectra arising during development of the primary cancer. The identification of a new modifier of cancer metastasis efficiency in mice provides experimental support for a predisposition model in which metastatic potential is viewed as a heritable trait influenced by host genetic polymorphisms.

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Figure 1: Three contrasting models of cancer metastasis.

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Threadgill, D. Metastatic potential as a heritable trait. Nat Genet 37, 1026–1027 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1005-1026

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