The Roles of Bone Marrow-Resident Cells as a Microenvironment for Bone Metastasis

It has been appreciated that the cross talk between bone metastatic cancer cells and bone marrow microenvironment influence one another to worsen bone metastatic disease progression. Bone marrow contains various cell types, including (1) cells of mesenchymal origin (e.g., osteoblasts, osteocytes, and adipocytes), (2) cells of hematopoietic origin (e.g., osteoclast and immune cells), and (3) others (e.g., endothelial cells and nerves). The recent studies have enabled us to discover many important cancer-derived factors responsible for the development of bone metastasis. However, many critical questions regarding the roles of bone microenvironment in bone metastatic progression remain elusive. To answer these questions, a deeper understanding of the cross talk between bone metastatic cancer and bone marrow microenvironment is clearly warranted.