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Topic Overview:

Surgery is the most common and effective intervention for cancer patients. Paradoxically, the resultant inflammatory response and healing process can augment the development and progression of metastatic disease. The mechanisms of surgery-induced metastatic progression are not fully understood, and no intervention to date prevents tumor recurrence after surgery. The goal of this talk is to better understand the mechanisms contributing to the protumorigenic perioperative period and, thus, open new potential therapeutic avenues for cancer treatment. The talk will highlight the unique roles of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), induced by the surgical stress, in promoting tumor growth: How do NETs induce invasion, migration, and capture of circulating cancer cells? How do NETs alter the infiltrating immune cells in the tumor microenvironment and cause T cell dysfunction and exhaustion? How do NETs alter the metabolic profiles of cancer cells to promote growth and awakening of micrometastatic disease? Can modulation of NETs alter or reverse the surgery-induced development and growth of metastatic disease?