Insights into the metastatic cascade through research autopsies

Sonya Hessey; Petros Fessas; Simone Zaccaria; Mariam Jamal-Hanjani; Charles Swanton

doi:10.1016/j.trecan.2023.03.002

Insights into the metastatic cascade through research autopsies

Trends Cancer. 2023 Jun;9(6):490-502. doi: 10.1016/j.trecan.2023.03.002. Epub 2023 Apr 12.

Authors

Sonya Hessey¹, Petros Fessas², Simone Zaccaria³, Mariam Jamal-Hanjani⁴, Charles Swanton⁵

Affiliations

¹ Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK; Cancer Metastasis Laboratory, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK; Computational Cancer Genomics Research Group, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK.
² Cancer Metastasis Laboratory, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK.
³ Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK; Computational Cancer Genomics Research Group, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK.
⁴ Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK; Cancer Metastasis Laboratory, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK; Department of Oncology, University College London Hospitals, London, UK. Electronic address: m.jamal-hanjani@ucl.ac.uk.
⁵ Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK; Department of Oncology, University College London Hospitals, London, UK; Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK. Electronic address: charles.swanton@crick.ac.uk.

PMID: 37059687
DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2023.03.002

Abstract

Metastasis is a complex process and the leading cause of cancer-related death globally. Recent studies have demonstrated that genomic sequencing data from paired primary and metastatic tumours can be used to trace the evolutionary origins of cells responsible for metastasis. This approach has yielded new insights into the genomic alterations that engender metastatic potential, and the mechanisms by which cancer spreads. Given that the reliability of these approaches is contingent upon how representative the samples are of primary and metastatic tumour heterogeneity, we review insights from studies that have reconstructed the evolution of metastasis within the context of their cohorts and designs. We discuss the role of research autopsies in achieving the comprehensive sampling necessary to advance the current understanding of metastasis.

Keywords: genomic sequencing; metastasis; research autopsy; tumour evolution.

Insights into the metastatic cascade through research autopsies

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