Unique Metabolic Adaptations Dictate Distal Organ-Specific Metastatic Colonization

Metastases arising from tumors have the proclivity to colonize specific organs, suggesting that they must rewire their biology to meet the demands of the organ colonized, thus altering their primary properties. Each metastatic site presents distinct metabolic challenges to a colonizing cancer cell, ranging from fuel and oxygen availability to oxidative stress. Here, we discuss the organ-specific metabolic adaptations that cancer cells must undergo, which provide the ability to overcome the unique barriers to colonization in foreign tissues and establish the metastatic tissue tropism phenotype.