Hypoxia and Cancer Metastasis

Abstract

Hypoxia (low O2 ) is a ubiquitous feature of solid cancers, arising as a mismatch between cellular O2 supply and consumption. Hypoxia is associated to metastatic disease and mortal- ity owing to its ability to stimulate the forma- tion of blood (angiogenesis) and lymphatic vessels (lymphangiogenesis), thereby allow- ing cancer cells to escape the unfavorable tumor microenvironment and disseminate into secondary sites. This review outlines molecu- lar mechanisms by which intratumoral hypoxia regulates the expression of motogenic and mitogenic factors that induce angiogene- sis and lymphangiogenesis, whilst discussing their implications for metastatic cancers.