Fig. 2
From: Heterogeneity of BCSCs contributes to the metastatic organotropism of breast cancer
Three important steps of BCSCs-related distant metastasis. BCSCs-related distant metastasis includes three important steps: (1) stemness maintenance in primary tumor; (2) invading and surviving in blood circulation; (3) colonization in distant organs. Stemness maintenance in primary tumor depends on BCSCs self-renewal and apoptosis. Invading and surviving in blood circulation depends on epithelial-mesenchymal transition and escaping from immune response