Metastasis suppression in prostate cancer

Due to a lack of effective treatments, the development of metastases remains the most lethal aspect of prostate cancer. In order to help overcome this problem there has been an ongoing effort to develop strategies for early intervention. This includes the development of strategies that allow histologic lesions and disseminated cells that are highly likely to cause metastatic disease to be distinguished from those that are not, as well as therapeutic approaches to specifically target bone metastases. Such approaches will be expedited by the identification of genes and signaling cascades that regulate metastatic growth. Genes that specifically suppress metastasis are strong candidates for these studies. This review will focus on metastasis-suppressor genes that have been identified functionally, particularly those found to play a role in prostate cancer, and discuss how the identification and study of these genes has influenced our overall understanding of the metastatic process.