Tumor metastasis is a leading cause of cancer death. The
metastatic switch marking the onset of metastatic dissemination corresponds to
the acquisition of specific traits by tumor cells, including migration,
invasion, and survival in the blood stream. Three main lines of evidence led us
to hypothesize that metastasis is under metabolic control. First, PET with the
glucose analog tracer [18]-F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is routinely used for the
clinical detection and imaging of tumor metastasis. This application is based
on the observation that the vast majority of metastases trap far more glucose
than normal tissues (with the exception of the brain), which has often been
related to metabolic characteristics already acquired at the primary tumor site.