Abstract

The causes of metastasis remain elusive despite vast information on cancer cells. We posit that cancer cell fusion with macrophages or other migratory bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) provides an explanation. BMDC–tumour hybrids have been detected in numerous animal models and recently in human cancer. Molecular studies indicate that gene expression in such hybrids reflects a metastatic phenotype. Should BMDC–tumour fusion be found to underlie invasion and metastasis in human cancer, new approaches for therapy would surely follow.

Author affiliations

1. John M. Pawelek and Ashok K. Chakraborty are at the Department of Dermatology and the Yale Cancer Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06520–08059, USA.

Correspondence to: John M. Pawelek¹ Email: john.pawelek@yale.edu

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