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Frontiers of Engineering Reports on Leading-Edge Engineering from the 2016 Symposium (2017) / Chapter Skim
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How Cancer Cells Go Awry: The Role of Mechanobiology in Cancer Research - Cynthia A. Reinhart-King
Pages 95-100

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 95...
... The chemical and physical environment surrounding tumor cells also contributes to malignancy and metastasis. Numerous tumors are diagnosed based on their physical properties; as an example, changes in tissue stiffness and density are markers of tumor formation detectable by palpation and medical imaging.
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From page 96...
... For this reason, significant attention has been paid to stopping cancer progression before the cells metastasize. MECHANOBIOLOGY IN CANCER Most cancer research has focused on identifying genetic drivers and understanding the mechanism by which genes and specific signaling pathways in the cell drive tumor formation.
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From page 97...
... In addition to changes in the physical properties of the cells, changes in the physical properties of the tissue have been shown to promote cancer progression. Solid tumor tissue is stiffer than normal tissue, and research suggests that this stiffness can promote tumor cell growth and invasion.
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From page 98...
... TRANSLATING MECHANOBIOLOGY TO THE CLINIC One of the biggest hurdles in the field of cancer mechanobiology is the translation of findings to the clinic. For instance, because it is known that metastatic cells exert higher forces and are more deformable than nonmetastatic cells, there may be clinical value to assaying patient samples to correlate forces and deformability with patient prognosis.
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From page 99...
... Cancer Research 76:188–192. Gill BJ, Gibbons DL, Roudsari LC, Saik JE, Rizvi ZH, Roybal JD, Kurie JM, West JL.
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Key Terms

  • tumor progression
  • cancer cells
  • metastatic cells
  • tumor cells
  • cancer progression

  • cancer mechanobiology
  • tissue stiffness
  • primary tumor
  • tumor microenvironment
  • drive tumor

  • tumor tissue
  • tumor formation
  • tumors form
  • signaling pathways
  • uncontrolled growth

  • cardiovascular disease
  • genetic changes
  • significant attention
  • tissue mechanics
  • formation detectable

  • initial rogue
  • staging tumors
  • stopping cancer
  • normal tissue
  • control cellular

  • secondary sites
  • wound healing
  • secondary metastatic
  • genetic drivers
  • called metastasis


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