Invadopodia: proteolytic feet of cancer cells

The leading cause of death in cancer patients is metastasis. Invasion is an integral part of metastasis and is carried out by proteolytic structures called invadopodia at the cellular level. In this introductory review, we start by evaluating the definition of invadopodia. While presenting the upstream signaling events involved, we integrate current models on invadopodia. In addition, we discuss the significance of invadopodia in 2D and 3D and in vivo. We finally point out technical challenges and conclude with open questions in the field.