N-cadherin lies to secret to ovarian mets.

Though incidence of ovarian cancer lags behind several of the more common malignancies in the U.S., its insidious behavior preserves its notoriety as a top perpetrator of cancer death. A study reported this summer sheds light on a crucial mechanism enabling ovarian cancer cells to quietly seed the pelvis and peritoneum even before growing large enough to cause symptoms. It appears most metastatic cells specifically express N-cadherin. Why does this matter for our patients? Well, several novel N-cadherin antagonists are on the horizon and show promising in vitro results. There is still a lot to learn in terms of understanding, and blocking, this metastatic mechanism...but curtailing cadherins may eventually curb ovarian cancer’s place on the (treatment) most wanted list.