Imaging amoeboid cancer cell motility in vivo

The availability of multi-photon intravital microscopy has recently allowed researchers to start to visualise the dynamic behaviour of cancer cells in vivo. This imaging has revealed that many cancer cells ranging from carcinoma to melanoma move in an amoeboid manner in order to invade surrounding tissue and escape from the primary tumour. This mode on cell motility is extremely rapid and does not require the activity of proteases to degrade the extra-cellular matrix (ECM). This review details the techniques that are available to study cell motility in vivo and discusses the current knowledge about the mechanisms of amoeboid cell motility.