Pharmacological Strategies for Targeting Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion

In this chapter, the two key themes are (i) pharmacological strategies to target or exploit cancer cell migration and invasion and (ii) in vitro models that are widely used to either unravel the complex biology of cancer cell invasion or evaluate the efficacy of potential therapeutic agents in the early stages of preclinical drug development. You will learn that not only does each of the pharmacological strategies being tested have its specific advantages and disadvantages, but there are also broader issues that challenge the whole concept of targeting cell migration and invasion. Similarly, there is no ‘ideal’ experimental model to test potential therapeutic agents, and the choice of which model to use depends very much on the experimental questions being addressed. In summary, targeting the complex biology underpinning cell migration and invasion has the potential to add new drugs to the pharmacopoeia, but significant challenges (which are, in fact, opportunities) need to be addressed if this potential is to be realised in the clinic.