Chapter 16 – Neural Crest Cells and Cancer: Insights into Tumor Progression

Neural crest cells (NCC) and tumor cells undergo remarkably similar cellular and molecular changes during the progression from an epithelial cell to a migratory mesenchymal-like cell in the course of embryonic development and metastatic disease, respectively. Many of the same genes and genetic pathways are expressed and required for delamination, migration, survival, and proliferation to occur in both neural crest and cancer. Additionally, tumors that originate from NCC and their derivatives exhibit re-activation and/or misregulation of genes that were expressed during normal development and differentiation. These parallels make neural crest development an excellent model for understanding the pathways tumor cells may employ during cancer progression and may provide clues to improve cancer diagnosis, treatment, and therapies.