Tracking Tumor Cell Dissemination from Lung Metastases Using Photoconversion

Metastasis - the systemic spread of cancer - is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Although metastasis is commonly thought of as a unidirectional process wherein cells from the primary tumor disseminate and seed metastases, tumor cells in existing metastases can also redisseminate and give rise to new lesions in tertiary sites in a process known as "metastasis-from-metastases" or "metastasis-to-metastasis seeding." Metastasis-to-metastasis seeding may increase the metastatic burden and decrease the patient's quality of life and survival. Therefore, understanding the processes behind this phenomenon is crucial to refining treatment strategies for patients with metastatic cancer.

Little is known about metastasis-to-metastasis seeding, due in part to logistical and technological limitations. Studies on metastasis-to-metastasis seeding rely primarily on sequencing methods, which may not be practical for researchers studying the exact timing of metastasis-to-metastasis seeding events or what promotes or prevents them. This highlights the lack of methodologies that facilitate the study of metastasis-to-metastasis seeding. To address this, we have developed - and describe herein - a murine surgical protocol for the selective photoconversion of lung metastases, allowing specific marking and fate tracking of tumor cells redisseminating from the lung to tertiary sites. To our knowledge, this is the only method for studying tumor cell redissemination and metastasis-to-metastasis seeding from the lungs that does not require genomic analysis.