Endothelial adhesion molecules in breast cancer invasion into the vascular and lymphatic systems

The lack of knowledge as to the mechanism by which tumour cells intravasate into the vasculature and/or lymphatics is perhaps not surprising given the lack of suitable models with which to investigate tumour cell intravasation. However, recent advances in the identification of molecular markers of angiogenic and lymphangiogenic endothelium, the development of techniques to image tumour cells in vivo and a better understanding of the architecture of these vessels is beginning to offer hope that this least well understood event in the metastatic process is becoming more amenable to study.