Abstract
Cancer is one of the serious sapping health problems that threatens humans due to its incurable nature. The only hope of beating cancer is early detection that could provide considerable management and accepted prognosis. Metastasis is the dissemination of the tumor cells from the affected organ to another which is not directly connected to the primary affected site. Once metastasis is predictable, the prognosis is poor, and mortality rate is high. Hence, early diagnosis of pre-metastatic malignant tumors could improve treatment efficacy and hence patients' survival. The past three decades had witnessed an enormous progress in the understanding of the pathophysiological basis of cancer. Disturbed metastatic biomarkers can predict the possibility of future development of metastases, disease progression and therapeutic efficacy. This review collects some of the most important biomarkers that were associated with metastasis in various types of cancer; MRP1, MMP-9, TGF-β, Vimentin, Snail-1 and TWF and E-cadherin. These biomarkers proved their ability to predict who is most at risk of developing metastasis. MRP1, MMP-9, TGF-β, Vimentin, Snail-1 and TWF has been reported to be upregulated during metastasis whereas E-cadherin has been reported to be downregulated. The close monitor of these biomarkers' levels could Provide oncologists better understanding of the disease stage and hence help them taking right decisions and begin individualized treatment strategies.