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Cancer Cell Mechanics

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Physical Sciences and Engineering Advances in Life Sciences and Oncology

Part of the book series: Science Policy Reports ((SCIPOLICY))

Abstract

Cell mechanics research is rapidly expanding within the cancer community. Its increasing recognition within cancer biology likely stems from the fact that metastasis is an inherently physical process, involving the pushing/pulling of cells away from the primary tumor and through the surrounding stromal environment (Friedl and Alexander 2011; Friedl and Wolf 2003; Wirtz et al. 2011). While cell mechanics has a long history, it has had a significant recent resurgence, largely enabled by new and better technologies for interrogating cells and molecules.

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Acknowledgement

The author would like to thank Denis Wirtz and Paul Janmey for helpful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, 302 Weill Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Cynthia A. Reinhart-King

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  1. Cynthia A. Reinhart-King
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Correspondence to Cynthia A. Reinhart-King .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Paul Janmey

  2. Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

    Daniel Fletcher

  3. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, JH Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, Institute for NanoBioTechnology, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Sharon Gerecht

  4. Human Oncology & Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, New York, USA

    Ross Levine

  5. Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA

    Parag Mallick

  6. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA

    Owen McCarty

  7. Radiation Oncology Edwin L. Steele Lab for Tumor Biology, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA

    Lance Munn

  8. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell Univesity, Ithaca, New York, USA

    Cynthia Reinhart-King

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Reinhart-King, C.A. (2016). Cancer Cell Mechanics. In: Janmey, P., et al. Physical Sciences and Engineering Advances in Life Sciences and Oncology. Science Policy Reports. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17930-8_4

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