How to wake a sleeping cancer cell, and why you might want to

Cancer cells that lie 'snoozing' in the skeleton can be awakened by changes in the bone that surrounds them, scientists have shown. In a world first, researchers have used state-of-the-art microscopy techniques to watch cancer cells sleep within living bone over a period of months. They show that cancer cells can be 'woken up' when bone tissue is broken down around them, suggesting new possibilities for treating metastatic cancer in bone.

Originally published at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151203081222.htm