Nucleoside diphosphate kinases, nm23, and tumor metastasis: Possible biochemical mechanisms

Tumor metastasis remains the leading cause of death for cancer patients, excluding those with skin cancers. Metastasis is a complex process, requiring tumor cell invasion, motility, arrest and extravasation from the circulatory system, angiogenesis, and avoidance of host immune responses. A considerable list of proteases, motility factors, and adhesion molecules for cells and extracellular matrix components have been examined for their potential roles in the tumor metastatic process [reviewed in 1,2].