How breast cancer uses exosomes to metastasize to the brain

In breast cancer, metastases to the brain often spell a death sentence; many women survive for less than a year after diagnosis. A new study reveals how the cancer is able to cross the blood-brain-barrier: by sending out exosomes that hijack the natural cell process of transcytosis, tricking the cells in the BBB into taking them up. The researchers now hope to identify therapeutic targets that could stop brain metastases from happening.