Disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) are known to enter a state of dormancy that is achieved via growth arrest of DTCs and/or a form of population equilibrium state, strongly influenced by the organ microenvironment. During this time, expansion of residual disseminated cancer is paused and DTCs survive to fuel relapse, sometimes decades later. This notion has opened a new window of opportunity for intervening and preventing relapse. Here we review recent data that have further augmented the understanding of cancer dormancy and discuss how this is leading to new strategies for monitoring and targeting dormant cancer.

中文翻译：

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播散性肿瘤细胞休眠的当前范式和未来挑战

已知播散性肿瘤细胞 (DTC) 进入休眠状态，这是通过 DTC 的生长停滞和/或一种群体平衡状态的形式实现的，受器官微环境的强烈影响。在此期间，残留播散性癌症的扩展被暂停，DTC 存活以助长复发，有时是几十年后。这一概念为干预和预防复发打开了新的机会之窗。在这里，我们回顾了最近的数据，这些数据进一步加深了对癌症休眠的理解，并讨论了这如何导致监测和靶向休眠癌症的新策略。