Résumé
The concept of metastatic colonization was firstly proposed by Weinberg R A and his colleagues in 2011. It is defined as the process in which malignant cells disseminate from primary tumors, reach the potential metastatic sites and grow from minute clusters into macroscopic metastatic colonies after recovery of propagation ability. Metastatic colonization is considered as the speed-limiting step in metastasis, only a small fraction of metastatic cells can successfully achieve this goal. The process of metastatic colonization is regulated by a series of related genes and correlated with tissue structure. This review summarizes the recent progress in mechanism of metastatic colonization including the development, characteristics and influencing factors of metastatic colonization, and it also give a comprehensive view into antimetastic potential of therapeutic strategies targeting metastatic colonization in clinical practice. Copyright © 2013 by TUMOR.