The interactions of tumor cells with the extracellular matrix found within the lymph nodes will be studied. Understanding how tumor cells invade the lymphatics and interact with the components of the extracellular matrix may explain why this tissue is such a fertile environment for tumor cell growth. This is especially relevant to head and neck cancers in which lymphatic metastasis is the primary mechanism of tumor dissemination.
The specific aims are (1) to characterize the mouse B16 melanoma model for lymphatic metastasis; (2) to examine the adhesion of metastatic cells to lymph node tissue elements; (3) to examine the role of tumor cell surface adhesion receptors in extracellular matrix interactions.
