Skip to the end: metastasis before tumorigenesis

Mutations in the sodium channel NALCN promote epithelial cell shedding and dissemination independent of oncogenic transformation. This observation suggests that metastasis may not uniformly represent the end stage of carcinogenesis but can occur before oncogenic transformation.

Automated summary

Mutations in the sodium channel NALCN can cause epithelial cell shedding and dissemination before oncogenic transformation, suggesting that metastasis may occur independently of the end stage of carcinogenesis.