The role of bone sialoprotein and other members of the SIBLING family in bone metastases formation

Bone metastasis is a major health and social-economic problem in well-developed countries because they are frequent and generate major morbidity in cancer patients. Although virtually all cancer cells can metastasize to bone, the majority of bone metastases are due to a few types of cancers that exhibit a high osteotropism. These include carcinoma of the breast, lung, prostate, thyroid, kidney, and multiple myeloma. The exact molecular mechanisms by which certain cancer cells preferentially implant to specific sites are not yet fully understood.