Anoikis

Anoikis is defined broadly as apoptosis that is inhibited by appropriate cell-matrix interactions.  Normal and tumor cells vary widely in their sensitivity to anoikis, but, in general, metastatic tumor cells are inevitably anoikis-resistant.  In particular, tumor cells that possess a cancer stem cell or mesenchymal phenotype, arising from the oncogenic Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), are transcriptionally re-programmed to resist anoikis.  While the anoikis response occurs