The metastasis of cancer to the central nervous system (CNS) remains a devastating clinical reality, carrying an estimated survival time of less than one year in spite of recent therapeutic breakthroughs for other disease contexts. Advances in brain metastasis research are hindered by a number of factors, including its complicated nature and the difficulty of modeling metastatic cancer growth in the unique brain microenvironment. In this review, we will discuss the clinical challenge, and compare the merits and limitations of the available models for brain metastasis research. Additionally, we will specifically address current knowledge on how brain metastases take advantage of the unique brain environment to benefit their own growth. Finally, we will explore the distinctive metabolic and chemical characteristics of the brain and how these paradoxically represent barriers to establishment of brain metastasis, but also provide ample supplies for metastatic cells' growth in the brain. We envision that multi-disciplinary innovative approaches will open opportunities for the field to make breakthroughs in tackling unique challenges of brain metastasis.

中文翻译：

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脑转移：独特的挑战和开放的机会。

癌症转移至中枢神经系统（CNS）仍然是灾难性的临床现实，尽管最近在其他疾病背景下取得了治疗性突破，但估计生存时间还不到一年。脑转移研究的进展受到许多因素的阻碍，包括其复杂的性质以及在独特的脑微环境中模拟转移性癌症生长的难度。在这篇综述中，我们将讨论临床挑战，并比较用于脑转移研究的可用模型的优缺点。此外，我们将专门解决当前有关脑转移如何利用独特的脑环境使自己的生长受益的知识。最后，我们将探讨大脑的独特代谢和化学特征，以及这些反常如何代表建立脑转移的障碍，同时也为转移细胞在大脑中的生长提供了充足的供应。我们设想，多学科的创新方法将为该领域打开机遇，以在应对脑转移的独特挑战方面取得突破。