Hematogenous metastasis of ovarian cancer: Re-thinking mode of spread

Ovarian cancer has a clear predilection for metastasis to the omentum, but the underlying mechanisms involved in ovarian cancer spread are not well understood. Here, we used a parabiosis model that demonstrates preferential hematogenous metastasis of ovarian cancer to the omentum. Our studies revealed that the ErbB3-neuregulin1 (NRG1) axis is a dominant pathway responsible for hematogenous omental metastasis. Elevated levels of ErbB3 in ovarian cancer cells and NRG1 in the omentum allowed for tumor cell localization and growth in the omentum. Depletion of ErbB3 in ovarian cancer substantially impaired omental metastasis. Our results highlight hematogenous metastasis as a previously under-recognized mode of ovarian cancer metastasis. These findings have implications for designing new strategies aimed at preventing and treating ovarian cancer metastasis. Two groups of samples are included: 1.SKOV3-ip1 2.SKOV3-OM3. Gene expression profiles of SKOV3-OM3 cells were compared to that of parental SKOV3 ip1 cells.