La Jolla, CA — Early-stage breast cancer that has not yet invaded the surrounding tissues may already contain highly motile cells, bringing the tumor one step closer to metastasis, report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.Their study, published in the Dec. 30 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, suggests that these cells, although not yet invasive, could wander off along milk ducts and seed new tumors within the same breast. “A lack of invasion suggested a lack of motility,” says lead author Gray Pearson, Ph.D, a postdoctoral researcher in the Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory at the Salk, “but that’s not so.”
