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Research Highlights

Nature Reviews Cancer 9, 460–461 (1 July 2009) | doi:10.1038/nrc2678

Breast cancer: Metastasis on the brain

Sarah Seton-Rogers

Breast cancer metastasis to the brain typically occurs after metastasis to other organs, possibly because the metastasizing cells must be capable of not only general extravasation but also of passing through the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Using gene expression analysis of breast cancer cells that exhibit specificity for brain colonization, Joan Massagu|[eacute]| and colleagues present evidence that supports this hypothesis.