Metastasis is the neoplastic process that cancer cells spread from a primary site and form new tumors in distant organs. Cancer metastasis is responsible for most cancer-related death, as the primary tumors can usually be surgically removed. The mechanisms of cancer metastasis involves complex, multiple steps including tumor cells leaving the primary site, entering the blood or lymphatic circulatory system, arresting in the capillaries of a new organ, extravasating the circulating system, and finally proliferating and forming tumors at the distant sites. The accomplishment of each step requires coordinated actions of various metastasis-associated genes including protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs). Recently, some PTPs have been found to play a causative role in cancer metastasis, and offer excellent targets for medical intervention. I am very interested in exploring the signaling network and the cellular substrates of these PTPs, which are prerequisites for the development of therapeutics targeted at them.
