Metafight final workshop
"Unravelling Cancer Cell Invasion and Metastasis"
2-3 December 2010, Turin (Italy),
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MetaFight is a cooperative project funded by the European Commission through the 7th Framework Programme of Research and Development (FP7). This project regroups 10 institutions/companies working together with the goal to understand the dissemination and outgrowth of metastasis through systematic analysis of the Core Invasive Machinery contained within integrin-mediated ECM attachment structure.

Partners will perform functional studies to understand this dissemination and share the knowledge resulting from these studies. It includes a large and discretely localised intracellular signalling network which drives migration and invasion. Our strategy is based on the hypothesis that metastatic cells arise from molecular changes that alter the primary tumour architecture as well as the tumor microenvironment, by reversible modulation of cell adhesion, onset of signalling pathways and acquisition of novel migratory and invasive capacities.

The MetaFight Consortium is strengthened by established combined expertise on adhesion receptor signalling and availability of unique tumor cell and cancer animal model systems. We will characterise known and novel components of the Core Invasive Machinery, responsible for development and homing of metastasis, by innovative in vivo non-invasive imaging techniques. The ultimate accomplishment will include improvement of health, reduction of health expenses, as well as creation of new jobs and economic benefit.

Cells migrating out from breast mammary epithelial three-dimensional structures upon oncogenic stimuli (click to enlarge image)