Cell-ECM Interactions in Tumor Invasion

The cancer cells obtain their invasion potential not only by genetic mutations, but also by changing their cellular biophysical and biomechanical features and adapting to the surrounding microenvironments. The extracellular matrix, as a crucial component of the tumor microenvironment, provides the mechanical support for the tissue, mediates the cell-microenvironment interactions, and plays a key role in cancer cell invasion. The biomechanics of the extracellular matrix, particularly collagen, have been extensively studied in the biomechanics community. Cell migration has also enjoyed much attention from both the experimental and modeling efforts. However, the detailed mechanistic understanding of tumor cell-ECM interactions, especially during cancer invasion, has been unclear. This chapter reviews the recent advances in the studies of ECM biomechanics, cell migration, and cell-ECM interactions in the context of cancer invasion.