Activation of Transmembrane Receptor Tyrosine Kinase DDR1-STAT3 Cascade by Extracellular Matrix Remodeling Promotes Liver Metastatic Colonization in Uveal Melanoma

The authors postulated the hypothesis that DDR1 and its ligand might ignite the interaction between uveal melanoma (UM) cells and their surrounding niche of liver thereby conferring strengthened survival, proliferation, stemness and eventually promoting metastatic colonization in liver.