Dormancy programs as emerging antimetastasis therapeutic alternatives.

We recently published that the retinoid-responsive gene NR2F1 (nuclear receptor subfamily 2, group F, member 1) mediates postsurgical dormancy of local residual tumor cells and disseminated tumor cells. Importantly, the combination of azacytidine with retinoids induces dormancy of malignant tumor cells by reinstating the NR2F1-regulated gene program. These findings open the door to the development of strategies that may stop minimal residual disease from becoming life-threatening metastases.