Yusuke Shiozawa

About Yusuke Shiozawa

It is unclear why prostate cancer selectively metastasizes to and proliferates in bone. Although multiple factors are thought to be involved in the dissemination process of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) to the marrow, growing evidence suggest that DTCs gain access to the bone marrow using similar ‘homing’ mechanisms of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). HSCs are the stem cells that give rise to all types of blood cells in the bone. Recent studies have shown that many of the same molecules that play critical roles in homing of HSCs to the bone marrow are also used by tumor cells to metastasize and establish footholds in the marrow. Dr. Shiozawa is studying the process of prostate cancer metastasis to bone. If successful, the proposed studies will provide a mechanism to explain why prostate cancer cells target bone during metastases and the process of the secondary spread of cancer. These studies may enable the design of new therapeutics targeting prostate cancer bone metastases.