Fascin-1 in Cancer Cell Metastasis: Old Target-New Insights

Sep 24, 2026

Metastasis drives most cancer-related deaths, making the cellular and molecular events behind migration and invasion essential for finding anti-metastatic therapeutic targets. Fascin-1, an actin-bundling protein, cross-links actin microfilaments in leading-edge structures such as filopodia, lamellipodia, and invadopodia. Although many epithelial tissues express low Fascin-1, it is markedly elevated across most cancers, correlating with aggressive disease and reduced survival. The review synthesizes recent literature on Fascin-1 across cancer types, its effects on cancer-cell mechanics and movement, and how inhibition by pharmacological agents impacts metastasis in vitro and in vivo, supporting its value as an anti-metastatic target.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

1. Introduction

1.1. Cancer Cell Metastasis

1.2. Actin-Based Structures in Metastasis: Filopodia, Lamellipodia and Invadopodia

Review Fascin-1 in Cancer Cell Metastasis: Old Target-New Insights Eleonora Sarantelli 1,†, Apostolis Mourkakis 2,†, Lefteris C. Zacharia 3, Andreas Stylianou 4 and Vasiliki Gkretsi 2,5, * Citation: Sarantelli, E.; Mourkakis, A.; Zacharia, L.C.; Stylianou, A.; Gkretsi, V. Fascin-1 in Cancer Cell Metastasis: Old Target-New Insights. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24, 11253 . [https://doi.org/10.3390/](https://doi.org/10.3390/)[ ](https://doi.org/10.3390/)ijms241411253 Academic Editor: Wan Lee Received: 8 June 2023 Revised: 29 June 2023 Accepted: 7 July 2023 Published: 8 July 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[ ](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[4.0/](4.0/)) . 1 Biological Sciences Program, Department of Life Sciences, School of Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, Cyprus; [es172241@students.euc.ac.cy](es172241@students.euc.ac.cy) 2 Cancer Metastasis and Adhesion Laboratory, Basic and Translational Cancer Research Center (BTCRC), European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, Cyprus; [am231067@students.euc.ac.cy](am231067@students.euc.ac.cy) 3 Department of Health Sciences, School of Life and Health Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 2417, Cyprus; [zacharia.l@unic.ac.cy](zacharia.l@unic.ac.cy) 4 Cancer Mechanobiology and Applied Biophysics Laboratory, Basic and Translational Cancer Research Center (BTCRC), European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, Cyprus; [an.stylianou@euc.ac.cy](an.stylianou@euc.ac.cy) 5 Biomedical Sciences Program , Department of Life Sciences, School of Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, Cyprus * [Correspondence: v.gkretsi@euc.ac.cy](Correspondence: v.gkretsi@euc.ac.cy); Tel.: +357-22559630 † These authors contributed equally to this work. Abstract: As metastasis is responsible for most cancer-related deaths, understanding the cellular and molecular events that lead to cancer cell migration and invasion will certainly provide insights into novel anti-metastatic therapeutic targets. Fascin-1 is an actin-bundling protein fundamental to all physiological or pathological processes that require cell migration. It is responsible for cross-linking actin microﬁlaments during the formation of actin-rich cellular structures at the leading edge of migrating cells such as ﬁlopodia, lamellipodia and invadopodia. While most epithelial tissues express low levels of Fascin-1, it is dramatically elevated in the majority of cancers and its expression has been associated with more aggressive disease and decreased overall survival. Hence, it has been proposed as a potential anti-cancer target. In the present review, we studied recent literature with regard to Fascin-1 expression in different cancers, its role in altering the mechanical properties of cancer cells, promoting cancer cell migration, invasion and metastasis and the effect of its inhibition, via various pharmacological inhibitors, in eliminating metastasis in vitro and/or in vivo. Recent studies corroborate the notion that Fascin-1 is critically involved in metastasis and prove that it is a valuable anti-metastatic target that is worth investigating further. Keywords: actin cytoskeleton; invasion; migration; invadopodia; mechanobiology 1. Introduction 1.1. Cancer Cell Metastasis Cancer-related mortality is rarely attributed to the primary tumor but rather to the spreading of cancer cells and the development of metastatic lesions in other sites of the body [1] . Although intensive worldwide research efforts have been made in the ﬁeld and several anti-cancer targets have been identiﬁed and new drugs have been developed, they mostly aim at inhibiting tumor growth. Thus, cancer treatment tends to be largely ineffective with the patient

FAQs

Why is understanding metastasis important for cancer treatment?

Cancer mortality often results from cancer-cell spreading and metastatic lesion development rather than the primary tumor. Targeting the metastatic process can help identify biomarkers and enable therapeutic interventions that inhibit metastasis.

What role does Fascin-1 play in cancer cell migration and invasion?

Fascin-1 is an actin-bundling protein that cross-links actin microfilaments during formation of leading-edge structures like filopodia, lamellipodia, and invadopodia. Elevated Fascin-1 levels are linked to more aggressive cancers and poorer survival.

How does metastasis proceed as described in the review?

Metastasis is a multistep process where cancer cells detach from the primary tumor, migrate and invade surrounding tissues, intravasate into blood or lymphatic vessels, and then travel to establish new tumors elsewhere.

Sep 24, 2026

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