""""""""No thesis selected"""""""". My research interests include the study of the mechanisms involved in the migration and invasion of tumor cells which play an important role in the metastasis of various types of tumors. Metastasis involves the spread of tumor cells via the blood and lymphatic vasculature systems to distant organs in the body. It is initiated by the migration and invasion of malignant cells into the surrounding tissues prior to intravasation in to the vasculature. Over the years, the number of cancer patients with tumor metastases has increased significantly. Very few cancer patients die from localized primary tumors; rather, it is the complications and metastatic spread that leads to treatment failures and patient mortalities. Therefore, it is important to identify key elements in these processes that may lead to better diagnostics or therapy of metastatic disease. To achieve this goal, a greater understanding of the underlying biological mechanisms involved in tumor cell adhesion and invasion is required, especially the role of epigenetic events and changes in gene expression. Understanding these events in tumor cells involves the study of signal transduction pathways that communicate to cells """"""""how"""""""" and """"""""when"""""""" to make the appropriated changes in order to invade or migrate to other tissues. These are the major reasons why I want to participate in this field of research. There is still much to learn in this area and I want to become part of the community of researchers involved in this field of cancer studies that may lead to improved patient survival.
| Cruz-Monserrate, Zobeida; O'Connor, Kathleen L (2008) Integrin alpha 6 beta 4 promotes migration, invasion through Tiam1 upregulation, and subsequent Rac activation. Neoplasia 10:408-17 |
| Cruz-Monserrate, Zobeida; Qiu, Suimin; Evers, B Mark et al. (2007) Upregulation and redistribution of integrin alpha6beta4 expression occurs at an early stage in pancreatic adenocarcinoma progression. Mod Pathol 20:656-67 |
